Expanding on their successful collaboration and creation of 100 percent recyclable sandals made with PLUSfoam material, Patagonia Footwear and PLUS Compound Technologies, LLC recently launched accessible consumer incentive programs that encourage them to recycle their used PLUSfoam flip flops. Anticipating the end of the summer season, Patagonia Footwear now offers free shipping and convenient drop off locations to streamline consumers’ ability to recycle.
Free, carbon-neutral return shipping is available for men and women’s PLUSfoam footwear products, including the Flipcycle, Reflip, ReFlip Chip and Upflip sandals. For details and shipping information please visit PLUSfoam.com/reclaim.
In Spring 2012, Patagonia Footwear launched PLUSfoam based sandals: vegan-friendly flip flops that feature a recycled and recyclable footbed and sole made with super soft, high density PLUSfoam that offers lasting cushioned comfort and durability. 100 percent recyclable, the Plus Compounds and PLUSfoam used to make the flip flops create a alternative to traditional rubber, EVA and Polyurethane foams typically used in footwear production. When these more common footwear materials are used, production scrap can account for 15 – 40 percent waste, says the company.
Using PLUSfoam in their Spring/Summer 2012 and 2013 collections, Patagonia prevented approximately 10,000 pounds of scrap waste from entering landfills and incinerators. This estimate is based on amount of scrap reused per product produced.
“Addressing end-of-life solutions for footwear is a challenge,” said Sue Harvey Brown, marketing manager for Patagonia Footwear. “Our partnership with PLUSfoam to create a fully recyclable flip flop allows us to truly ‘close the loop’ in the footwear product cycle. We hope consumers will take advantage of the free shipping to return their spent flips and keep them out of landfills.”
Consumers can return used PLUSfoam flips via free shipping, drop them in into any Patagonia store’s Common Threads Recycling Bin, or send them directly to the PLUSfoam Reclaim Center: 844 Production Place, Newport Beach, CA 92663.
