Footwear has been lagging several steps behind the fashion clothing and accessories sectors in the sustainability stakes. So the situation’s being addressed by Fashion for Good with its major ‘Closing the Footwear Loop’ initiative.

It has bought together 14 leading fashion and footwear brands and their existing circularity programmes “to tackle the industry’s complex circularity challenges”. Participating brands include  Dr Martens, Reformation, Adidas, Deichmann, Inditex, Lululemon, ON, Otto Group, Puma, Reformation, Target, Tommy Hilfiger, Vivobarefoot, and Zalando alongside the Footwear Innovation Foundation.

​The collaborative project aims to enable the “transformation of footwear’s current linear ‘take-make-dispose’ model into a circular one, driving innovation across the value chain”. So the coalition is working with various ecosystem partners including The Footwear Collective, Global Footwear Future Coalition (GFFC), and Global Fashion Agenda “to drive a collaborative approach across the industry”.

And the issues facing the new Fashion for Good campaign are major, it noting that footwear faces “a complex challenge”, with the global footwear industry creating 23.8 billion pairs of shoes annually, “a figure that highlights both its scale and its environmental footprint”. Each shoe is also composed on average of more than 60 different components ranging from fabrics and plastics to rubber and adhesives.

It cites most recent studies that claim around 90% of footwear ends up in landfills , “contributing to an ever-growing mountain of waste”. It also noted the challenge “is exacerbated by a lack of reverse logistics infrastructure and the absence of design principles that prioritise circularity”. 

It said current practices largely focus on linear production models — manufacture, use, and discard — “failing to address the lifecycle of products”. 

But on the plus side, it also said brands are already exploring innovative solutions, including material science advancements and take-back programmes, to address these challenges and pave the way for more circular footwear.

“These individual efforts complement the collaborative work within ‘Closing the Footwear Loop’, creating a synergistic approach to driving industry-wide change”, the body said.

This project aims to deliver: a detailed mapping of European footwear waste streams providing crucial data on volumes, materials, rewearability, and recyclability; a roadmap towards circular footwear design, developed with Fashion for Good Alumni circular.fashion, outlining principles for material selection, durability, recyclability, repairability, and responsible chemical management; and validation of end-of-use innovations, including trials and impact assessments, to overcome current bottlenecks and drive industry-wide adoption.

Katrin Ley, managing director of Fashion for Good, said: “The footwear industry stands at a critical turning point. With billions of shoes produced annually and 90% ending up in landfills, ‘Closing the Footwear Loop’ represents our most ambitious effort yet to reimagine how we design, use, and dispose of shoes. By bringing together 14 leading brands, we’re not just addressing a challenge — we’re creating a blueprint for systemic change.”