An idea in 2017, turned into a kickstarter in 2019 that generated over $1 Million to produce cute shoes partly made out of COFFEE GROUNDS! The Finnish footwear firm Rens Original was born. The goal to help the environment a coffee and shoe at a time. There is an estimated 6 million tons of used coffee grounds filling up landfills each year. Their breakdown creates a large amount of methane, a greenhouse gas that contributes to global warming.
About 5% of coffee grounds actually get recycled. Rens found a way to create a yarn made from the coffee grounds, with the help of plastic bottles and natural rubber, to create the world's first waterproof sneaker! The Rens Original shoes contain about 300 grams of coffee waste which is equal to 21 cups of coffee.
Rens gets most of their coffee grounds from Asian convenient stores.
The shoes are made in a factory in Vietnam, known for being a big coffee producer. A follow-up fundraiser got them the 'Nomads' with laces. All part of the recycled coffee grounds & plastic bottles creations. See what Rens is about. They are doing 1Thing to help the environment 1 pair of shoes or 21 cups of coffee at a time.