It takes about and average of 30 to 40 years for a pair of shoes to decompose in a landfill. This is according to an eco-friendly sneaker company called Nothing New. They also claim that close to 300 million pairs of shoes are thrown out every year and these shoes either make their way to landfills or into the ocean.

More and more consumers today are reevaluating their purchase decisions and are seeking alternative products which are made more responsibly. Younger people are now more concerned about the negative environmental impact of their consumption of shoes and fast-fashion.

This printable worksheet set introduces the concepts of sustainability in fashion and particularly shoe production. Let's go green!

Printable & Activity Objectives

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Age: 6 to 9 year olds, Activity Time: 1-2 hours, Items Needed: Colouring and writing pencils

In this activity, your child will learn about the impact of our fashion consumption to the environment and how a new trend of responsible and sustainable manufacturing has started to gain popularity. They will learn this by designing their own eco-friendly shoes.

It will help your child or student:

  • Develop a greater understanding of how things we consume on a regular basis can impact the environment in ways we don't normally think about.
  • Develop their artistic and creative skills through an added eco-conscious lens to develop their own environmentally friendly sneakers.

Let's go green!

Classroom Resources

Simple steps to start:

  • Research and find out more about sneaker consumption and production. Here's a very good video about the environmental and social impact of sneaker production by TED-Ed. (This video contains fairly complex concepts so it's best that you watch the video with your child).
  • Research and find out more about current efforts in sustainable shoe manufacturing by big and small shoe companies. Here's a video about how sporting fashion giant Adidas convert marine pollution into sportswear/shoes.

Here's video of another sporting fashion giant Nike producing new shoes from scrap materials from their factories.

Here's a great video of a young entrepreneur who started a shoe company making sneakers from trash (plastic bags and plastic bottles).

  • Start working on the printable worksheets!

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What's in the Printable Worksheet Pack

This printable pack consists of 3 printable worksheets with different sneaker design templates for kids to work on.

Click on the download link below to get started. Please note that this printable pack is only for subscribers and paid members.

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