I’m certain most of us at one point have been in a sticky situation when we got chewing gum stuck to the bottom of our shoes. And I definitely remember my childhood years when I’d fall asleep with gum and wake up with it stuck in my hair! Many cities and towns across the world have a major, sticky gum problem. In Netherlands alone, 1.5 million kilograms (over 3.3 million pounds) of gum end up on pavements. In Amsterdam, gum litter is the second most common form of litter after cigarettes.
I Amsterdam, the city’s marketing organization, has teamed up with Gum-Tec and Explicit Wear to create the world’s first sneaker that utilizes recycled gum to create the Gumshoe sneaker. Chewing gum is tough stuff and its biodegradability is between 20 and 25 years. To create the shoes, a team is sent out across the city to collect gum from the streets.
The collected gum is refined into a usable rubber and then used to make the shoe sole. Fortunately, the shoes are not sticky and unfortunately the shoes are not delicious and can’t be chewed on. The Gumshoe can be pre-ordered, available in either pink or black, and will cost you €49.95.
