Air Jordan, Yeezys, PUMA Suede, Converse, Vans — Ring a bell? Sneakers. Australians call them “runners”. The British know them as “trainers” and Americans address them as “tennis shoes” or “sneakers’. Whatever you call them, these rubber-soled, casual shoes are worn by billions of people around the world.
A few years ago Sneakers were considered ungentlemanly and were part of alternative society, but now it has totally taken over the fashion industry. Sneakers are considered art. These youth-cultured streetwears are worn on runways, red carpets, workplaces and where not. Sneakers are versatile staples which go with everything. This is partly because of the evolution in our professional lives. There are barely any jobs which require the employee to be suited and booted. Engineers, journalists, teachers, stylists etc are far more likely to wear sneakers than a pair of heels.
With all the glamour associated with sneakers, people are obsessed about them. There are sneakerheads with a collection of more than 1000 pairs of sneakers. Sneaker collection is a real thing. Have you seen people queue to buy the latest iPhone — sneakerheads camp outside the sneaker store for days before the sale, and these sales happen way more often. More interestingly, a few minutes after the sale, thousands of these pairs are on eBay for two or three times the retail price. The global sneaker market was valued at 70.1 billion USD in 2018 and is expected to be 108 billion USD by the end of 2025. This craziness is so intense that people have created their own sneaker portfolios to manage their sneaker prices. Is this addiction more like drugs or stocks? Sneakers are a legal and accessible investment opportunity. Sneakers have their own democratized, yet unregulated, stock market.
To meet these crazy demands, companies have to increase the production. But making shoes has become more complicated, more labor intensive and in some ways more dangerous. The heel insole, midsole and upper layer are made up of synthetic textiles. Mining the fossil fuels to develop the textiles generates tons of greenhouse gas and uses lots of energy. The outer sole is made of synthetic blend of natural rubber. Next, sneakers are composed of several discrete parts which are manufactured at different locations to make it cheap. But the transportation of these parts to the assembly line emits even more carcinogenic gases. Once all components arrive at the assembly line they are cut, melted, baked, cooled, glued and then stitched which accounts for the more carbon footprint. Ever Since all the parts are glued so tightly that it is almost impossible to recycle them. Either they are burnt or left in landfills where it takes them thousands of years to degrade.
Certainly, sneakers are rendered as art and have a cult status. But we need to balance our love for sneakers with sustainability.