Shoes Made from Chewed Chewing Gum

A Dutch company is fighting environmental pollution in Amsterdam by using chewing gum thrown on the streets a very interesting method.

Approximately 1.5 million kilograms of chewing gum pollute the streets in the Netherlands every year and it costs millions of dollars to clean them up.

Gum-tec, a brand affiliated with the company Gumpdrop, has launched Gumshoe (Gum Shoe) shoes in a very creative effort to collect and transform waste gum, which is Amsterdam's biggest problem after cigarette butts in terms of environmental pollution, into a useful result.

The sole of this shoe, called Gumshoe, is made of recyclable compounds produced by Gumdrop, of which 20% is gum.

Anna Bullus, designer and managing director of Gumdrop, said: "We discovered that chewing gum is made of synthetic rubber, and we used this property of gum to create a new kind of rubber."

Within the scope of the project, the recycled chewing gum used in the production of shoes is collected from the streets of Amsterdam. Approximately 1 kg of gum is used for every four pairs of shoes produced.

Gumshoe, the world's first shoe made of gum, is made of leather except for the sole. In addition, the sole of the shoe can be replaced for a certain fee if needed. The old shoe sole, which becomes unusable, is recycled again.

The sale price of the shoe, which is planned to be put on sale in June this year, is set at 190 Euros. Gumshoe has three different color options: bubblegum pink, black and red.

Gumdrop's products made from recycled gum are not limited to shoes. Since gum is made from rubber, the raw material for many things, Gum-tec offers unlimited potential. Among the company's products are keychain-shaped gum collection boxes placed on the streets to prevent gum from being thrown on the ground, and products such as combs, boots, door mats, pens, forks, storage containers, and Frisbees made from recycled gum.

Gumshoe is a successful example of turning harmful into useful by utilizing developing technology and showing that there are no limits to creativity in recycling. The project partners aim to expand this project to other big cities and thus raise awareness about the need to dispose of waste in the right place, as well as raise recycling awareness.