Go green... with biodegradable sneakers.

Picture: OAT Shoes

An innovative Dutch team has come up with a startlingly different fashion concept: you buy a pair of cheerful-looking sneakers, bury them in the garden at the end of their useful life, apply water, and watch as flowers bloom from your old footwear.
Meet the Virgin Collection from OAT Shoes, a range of biodegradable sneakers resulting from almost two years of research and development. Say the two guys behind the idea, Christiaan Maats and Dirk-Jan Oudshoorn: “The future of fashion lies in a reconciliation between nature and industry. OAT Shoes strives to lead the way to that future.”

Fine so far, but then it gets a little Earth Motherish. “We have to close the loop, come full circle and realise we’re an integral part of the whole thing. We are nature, we were born from it, live in it and we’ve been playing around with it for a while now, building cities and roads and running around, not minding too much about keeping the place clean. And now, up to our knees in waste and with mother earth losing her temper, it’s time for some spring cleaning. And that starts with making greener choices.”

Plant a sneaker today. Bikini optional.

Anyway, we say good luck to them. The idea of planting a pair of old shoes in the ground after use (these contain seeds, by the way) and watching them sprout flowers is such an off-the-wall concept that it deserves attention. Judging by the state of some old sneakers we’re encountered over the years, no additional compost will be necessary.