"23 billion pairs of shoes every year and we're throwing out 22 billion!" - Chandni Batra on What the Sneaker Giants Don't Tell You

Twenty-two billion! What are we playing at?!

Things get worse when we look at the materials most commonly in use. The sports shoe category in particular is a giant, influential sector, yet its waste footprint and chemical inputs tend to fall under the radar. And don't get us started on the Crocsification of everything! Injection-moulded EVA is coming to a clog near you, but don't let's pretend that's sustainable.

Increasingly, our shoes are made of frankenstein plastics, and even their creators don't necessarily know what's in them.

This week on the podcast, Clare's guest is Chandni Batra, founder of A BLUNT STORY - a disruptive Indian sandals brand on a mission detoxify your footwear, and challenge the industry to stop trashing the planet.

This is a gob-smacking conversation full of revelations about how huge numbers of shoes are made today, using oil-based plastics, potentially-toxic foams and petrochemical ingredients for all sorts of uses you’ve most likely never even heard of. Could these chemicals be leaching into our skin? What are their effects on the environment? And on the workers who must handle them? Why are modern shoes to hard to recycle? And what can be done about all this. Chandni has solutions! Ears here!

More info at thewardrobecrisis.com

Tell us what you think? Find Clare on Instagram @mrspress

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