Interview about GreenPlax Tess Footwear, winner of the A' Footwear, Shoes and Boots Design Award 2021
GreenPlax Tess designs as a reminder for the bottle upcycling process. Every 20 plastic bottles recycle material can make one pair of GreenPlax Tess in every major component. The outsole is particularly made from straight scraps of bottles while imitating its shapes. The color palette and silhouette design also replicate some beverage brands to create a direct visual impact, as a reminder for people of the sustainable issues from plastic bottles throw-away behaviors. It is also water-repellent, dirt-proof, and moisture-wicking. Sustainability is their forwarding mission bear in mind.
View detailed images, specifications, and award details on A' Design Award & Competition website.
View Design DetailsThe visual design of GreenPlax Tess Footwear effectively raises awareness about plastic waste by creating a direct link between the shoe and its recycled origin. The outsole is designed to mimic plastic bottle parts, providing a constant visual reminder of the material's source. The overall aesthetic, including colors and silhouette, is inspired by beverage bottle brands, prompting consumers to consider their consumption habits and the issue of plastic waste. This design serves as tangible proof of concept for the circular economy, demonstrating how waste can be transformed into desirable products. Furthermore, the unique appearance of the shoe acts as a conversation starter, allowing wearers to share the story behind the footwear and advocate for sustainable practices. The design uses "dynamic aesthetics" to convey a message of transformation and highlight the need to address plastic pollution.
The key technical challenge was transforming rigid PET bottle shatter into a high-performance, flexible outsole material with excellent grip and durability, properties very different from the original material. The team overcame this through their patented GreenPlax® technology, involving a specific process to sort, clean, shred, and pelletize the plastic shatter into a concentrate masterbatch, enabling injection molding into complex, functional shoe components. This process allowed the creation of a material with comparable performance to virgin materials, while maintaining properties like water resistance and elasticity.
GreenPlax balanced sustainability with comfort and functionality by transforming plastic shatter into highly functional material through patented technology and incorporating additional comfort elements. Material Science: The core GreenPlax® technology sorts, cleans, and processes plastic bottles into a concentrate masterbatch that is injection molded into flexible yet resilient components, including the outsole.Performance Integration: A special nano-level coating provides water repellency, dirt/oil proofing, and breathability, allowing the recycled material to perform like high-performance functional apparel fabrics.Comfort Engineering: The design incorporates an organic sock-liner for moisture-wicking and odor control, and a responsive high-tech sole offering resilience and support, ensuring comfort comparable to traditional high-quality sneakers.Multi-component approach: The entire shoe (upper, insole, outsole) is made with the help of recycled plastics, proving that a circular economy approach can meet rigorous performance and comfort standards without compromise.
The bold design decision to reference specific beverage brands was inspired by the desire to create a direct visual impact and act as a stark reminder of plastic bottle waste. The aim was to force consumers to confront the impact of their "throw-away behaviors" by associating everyday waste with a tangible, high-quality product. This design choice has significantly impacted consumer engagement:Increased Interest: The strong visual associations draw more interest from users who are the most critical part of social movements.Conversation Starter: The unique, instantly recognizable design encourages wearers to share the story behind the footwear, advocating for sustainable practices and the circular economy concept.Tangible Proof of Concept: It provides tangible evidence that plastic waste can be upcycled into desirable, functional products, strengthening brand trust and loyalty among eco-conscious consumers.
The research and development (R&D) process for the GreenPlax Tess Footwear involved a five-year endeavor by CCILU's R&D team to address the challenge of transforming rigid PET plastic into a versatile, high-performance footwear material. Key insights into the R&D process include the goal to move beyond using recycled plastic only for fabric uppers and develop technology to incorporate it into all major components, including the outsole. The focus was on material science, leading to a patented process that gave the upcycled plastic the flexibility, resilience, grip, and durability needed for footwear. The process involved collecting and sorting ocean plastics, preparing a raw material, and utilizing a proprietary high-temperature method to create a "concentrate masterbatch" for injection molding.
To achieve carbon neutrality by near future , GreenPlax (CCILU) explored various innovations and modifications to the Tess Footwear design and production process. Key strategies included replacing petroleum-based materials with GreenPlax® in shoe components and adopting a circular economy approach by upcycling plastic bottles and implementing a reverse logistics program for worn shoes. Production efforts involved investing in a local recycling plant and designing a low-impact manufacturing process. CCILU also developed technologies to upcycle materials like spent coffee grounds (XpreSole® technology) for other product lines. The carbon-neutral claim was intended for verification by an independent third party.
The brand-specific approach uses familiar brand colors and silhouettes to create an immediate, strong visual impact that serves as a constant and stark reminder of plastic bottle waste. This decision has directly influenced consumer awareness and participation in sustainability efforts: Increased Interest: The instantly recognizable aesthetic draws significant interest from consumers who are motivated to engage with social movements and the circular economy.Tangible Proof: It provides tangible evidence that plastic waste can be upcycled into desirable, high-quality products, which strengthens consumer trust and loyalty in the brand's authentic environmental claims.Advocacy & Engagement: The unique appearance makes the footwear an effective conversation starter, empowering wearers to share the story behind the product and advocate for sustainable practices within their own social circles.Confronting "Throw-away" Culture: By linking their product to everyday beverage brands, GreenPlax forces consumers to confront their own consumption habits and the impact of a "throw-away society".
GreenPlax Tess Footwear'snano-level coatingcontributes to sustainability in several ways. It helps prolong the product's life by protecting against damage and stains through water repellency, dirt and oil resistance, and UV protection. The easy-to-clean nature of the coated surface can reduce the need for frequent cleaning and harsh detergents, potentially lowering water and energy use. Furthermore, this coating offers an alternative to traditional waterproofing methods that may contain harmful fluorochemicals (PFAs).
GreenPlax Tess Footwear is expected to influence global industry standards by demonstrating a commercially viable and high-performance model for the circular economy and sustainable manufacturing. Key influences include:Pioneering Material Science: By transforming problematic, rigid PET waste into a flexible and durable outsole material, GreenPlax shows that high-performance footwear does not need to rely on virgin, petroleum-based materials. This pushes other companies to invest in R&D for innovative, upcycled alternatives.Proof of the Circular Economy Concept: The entire design, from material sourcing to a proposed take-back program for end-of-life shoes, offers a tangible, closed-loop system. This provides a blueprint for the industry to move away from a linear "take-make-dispose" model and embrace a fully circular future.Challenging "Design for Disassembly": The innovation in consolidating complex footwear parts into fewer, integrated components (like a single injection-molded outsole) simplifies the recycling and remanufacturing process at the end of the shoe's life, a key principle in circular design.Increasing Consumer Awareness and Demand: The shoe's bold visual connection to specific beverage brands serves as an ongoing public awareness campaign, educating consumers on the potential of upcycling. As consumers increasingly demand ethically made products, this pushes the entire industry to adopt greener practices to remain competitive.Advocating for Carbon Neutrality: The ambitious goal of achieving carbon-neutral (or even carbon-negative) production sets a new benchmark for environmental responsibility within the industry, encouraging other brands to measure and reduce their own carbon footprints.
Key insights from consumer behavior and environmental impact research drove the evolution of the GreenPlax Tess Footwear design: Environmental Urgency: Research highlighted the severe environmental impact of the traditional linear economy and the specific microplastic pollution from footwear sole fragments, creating a clear mandate for a circular solution. The design directly addresses the "throw-away" culture problem.Consumer Desire for Impact: Consumers are increasingly environmentally conscious and prefer brands that demonstrate genuine commitment to sustainability, rather than just using greenwashing claims. This insight pushed the team to make the shoe's origins visually obvious and authentic.Aesthetics as Advocacy: The design team realized that strong, recognizable aesthetics could serve as powerful communication tools. Mimicking beverage brand colors and bottle shapes makes the product a conversation starter and a tangible proof-of-concept for upcycling, which engages consumers more effectively than abstract claims.Performance is Paramount: Research confirmed that consumers, even when motivated by sustainability, prioritize basic functional attributes like comfort, quality, and performance (water repellency, grip) in footwear. The design evolved to meet these high performance standards using innovative material technology to ensure consumer satisfaction and repeat use.Brand Trust and Transparency: Consumers often express distrust or have limited knowledge regarding sustainable products due to lack of information. The transparent and visually explicit design counters this skepticism by physically demonstrating the source of the materials, thereby building trust and strengthening the brand's reputation.
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