Converse Renew Initiative Breathes New Life Into Its Iconic Sneaker

Converse wants to reduce its environmental impact and focus on the sustainable production of their classic sneakers with the Renew Initiative

Converse Renew upcycles plastic, denim and canvas to give them new life in the form of their iconic sneaker.

As part of their aim to continually reinvent the Chuck Taylor All Star, Converse has launched the Renew Initiative, and revealed three new versions of the basketball sneaker. The focus on materials and production aims to bring us the must-have sneaker in a more sustainable way.

Looking to breathe new life into waste, Converse developed three new Renew processes – Renew Canvas, Renew Denim and Renew Cotton. As the names suggest, the new production methods upcycle those materials to make the uppers of the classic shoe.

The Converse Renew Canvas models will boast uppers made entirely of recycled polyester sourced from water bottles, all while maintaining the look and feel of traditional canvas. This will be the first of three models to drop, with the other two coming at later dates.

Renew Denim will upcycle denim sourced from landfills to make Chuck Taylor All Stars or Chuck 70s. Renew Cotton will merge cotton canvas waste from manufacturing with polyester to form a new yarn. This proprietary process will create an upper that is 40% recycled cotton and is set to drop in early 2020.

Converse has made a promise to look into more sustainable methods to produce the basketball sneaker. Converse Renew joins other environmentally-conscious sneaker lines like the Adidas Parleys and the upcoming Futurecraft Loop, pushing the industry forward in terms of sustainability and sourcing.

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Original canvas feel, but now with an upper crafted from 100% recycled polyester that came from used plastic bottles. There’s always a way to renew what we do. #ConverseRenew Available now at ION, Takashimaya Shopping Centre, Tampines Mall and Changi Airport 2 Converse boutique stores.

A post shared by Converse Singapore (@converse_sg) on Jul 9, 2019 at 4:55am PDT

The Converse Renew Canvas All-Stars and 70s are now available at Converse.com or ION, Takashimaya Shopping Centre, Tampines Mall, and Changi Airport 2 Converse boutique stores.

Chuck 70s with Renew Denim is slated to drop in August, while Renew Cotton versions of the classics are set to release in early 2020.

What do you think about the push towards sustainability in the sneaker world? Let us know in the comments.

All images: Nike.com