Companies

Schuh transforms post consumer waste into store fixtures

Mar 26, 2025 United Kingdom

The British footwear retailer Schuh has teamed up with waste design studio Are You Mad to transform its post-consumer waste into usable and creative objects for its store fixtures

This partnership has allowed Schuh to transform donated shoes, return bags and pallet wraps into unique donation bins for the retailer’s 'Sell Your Soles' shoe take-back initiative and shoe risers for product displays.

“We’re on a mission to inspire our customers to make more responsible choices, and this partnership with Are You Mad is a valuable opportunity for us to raise awareness of the importance of reusing. Our goal is to give as much footwear as possible a second life”, commented Greg Traill, head of brand partnerships at Schuh.

The London-based waste design studio, agency, and consultancy Are You Mad, known for transforming discarded materials into objects, furniture, and shop fittings, was therefore the perfect partner for this project.

In particular, the design studio’s in-house team of ‘Certified Wastemen’ dissected and deconstructed over 600 donated shoes by hand and British sustainable footwear designer Helen Kirkum transformed them into stitched panels, which were then handcrafted into donation bins by Charlie Boyden. For the shoe display risers, Are You Mad worked with Weez & Merl, a studio specialising in the reuse of post-consumer LDPE plastic.

“When Schuh approached us to help bring their ‘Sell Your Soles’ initiative to life, what stood out was their honesty about the challenges of footwear recycling”, said James Suckling, co-founder of Are You Mad.

Launched in October 2019 in partnership with textile reuse experts Recyclatex, the Sell Your Soles initiative allows customers to donate their unwanted pairs of shoes to Schuh stores, regardless of where they were originally purchased, in return for a 5 British pounds voucher.

“It’s a complex process, but together, we’re creating a solution that gets people excited about recycling their old shoes, and rethinking the journey of their clothing, footwear, and waste. This is just the beginning of our partnership, and we’re excited to continue working with Schuh in 2025 and beyond”, he added.

Image Credits: 365retail.co.uk

United Kingdom Brands Companies Footwear Genesco Sustainability