Oyster shells are more likely to line the bottoms of our plates than the soles of our sneakers. However, French designer Eugène Rionneaus has chosen to use them to design an entire collection of upcycled sneakers. The target? To reconcile style and ecology, while helping to clean the French coasts from (too) much waste.
As World Ocean Day approaches, scheduled for June 8, French visual artist and designer Eugène Rionneaus presents the ‘ER Soulier’ trainer, made from marine debris. Powered by upcycling, which gives a second life to waste and unused items, the collection was born out of a desire to fight the pollution of the seas and oceans.© years, during which quantities of plastic, fishing nets and seafood waste are drowning.
“Sea activities represent 50% of ocean pollution. I see this case as intended to make a proposal to others and influence action for the ocean. The idea is to create a demand that values marine waste products: from fishing nets, plastic to waste from oyster farms and seaweed”
Eugene Rinneaus
Not content with helping to clean up France’s coasts, Eugène Rionneaus innovates by giving marine litter a potential unimaginable a few years ago. The ‘ER Soulier’ sneaker is handmade in a workshop in Portugal from fishing nets, shellfish and green seaweed, complete waste from pieces of leather, natural cork or even recycled rubber. In total, this new type of sneaker consists of almost 80% recycled elements.
The designer, who collaborates with a reintegration association for the collection and transformation of marine waste collected in the Bay of Biscay, is offering its first models for pre-order through a crowdfunding campaign launched on Ulule. The first price is set at 99 euros, but the public will also have the opportunity to find a pair of sneakers adapted and signed by Eugène Riconneaus. The campaign, which ends on June 18, has already made it possible to achieve more than half of the set goals.
(ETX Daily Up)