Where the Rubber Leaves the Road: Flat Tire Footwear

Where the Rubber Leaves the Road: Flat Tire Footwear

Sometime ago we pondered whether Crocs with their simple construction and lightweight might be the Birkys of a new century. Lots of folk were horrified at the notion. A commentor recently let a note saying they had found an alternative, Flat Tire Footwear. While Crocs don’t make any overt claims about being green, these guys do. Their line of shoes, sandals and so on employ crumb rubber salvaged from discarded car and truck tyres. Flat Tire reckon the US generated some 290 million scrap tyres during 2003 and turning them into rubber crumb, such as they use in their footwear, can help reduce this volume by 75 to 90%. As best we can make out the sole itself is not made from the recycled rubber but that it is inserted into the midsole to provide shock absorption. This process is claimed as an industry first, and is said to make the shoes more comfy. We’re not sure how ecologically or socially benign the rest of their production is, but, hey its great that they are doing this much. The longest journey begins with the first step. ::Flat Tire Footwear.