A Sustainable Footwear System
TevaForYou is a sandal that’s personalized uniquely for you and designed to be recyclable with the goal of spreading awareness around recycling to reduce waste.
PROBLEM STATEMENT
USER RESEARCH
I found people on Instagram and did an interview.
Jetta Juriansz
Wants more durability
PRODUCT RESEARCH
On sand:
comfortable, feels like barefoot
But why should people care?
Vivian
Uncomfortable straps (rubbing)
Zhuleeahn
Jamie Sanders
Dice Yamaguchi
Needs more grip on rocks and sands
Rubber wears out
Every interviewee doesn’t know about the product take-back program: TevaForever
I bought the Teva midform sandal and tried it in nature
RECYCLING CENTER RESEARCH
Sole needs more grip
Humidity makes sandal smell
Dispose packaging
On rocky terrain:
ok grip, but needs to be careful
Key Insights:
Fabrics don’t get recycled
Recycle materials that make profit: plastic bottles, newspaper, cardboard
TAKING APART THE PRODUCT
Threads
Velcro
Polyester
EVA foam
Polypropylene
Rubber
Paper
Label
Cardboard
SUSTAINABILITY RESEARCH
Of the 22 billion pairs of shoes thrown away every year, on average, it takes between 30-40 years to decompose.
Some companies may have a product take-back program that recycles unused products.
On water and rocks:
a little slippery, but good grip
after getting out of the water, the straps are rubbing and felt rigid
This is the product process tree and the impacts are most significant in transport (ocean freight from China and cargo trucks) which create Green House Gases.
This is the bill of materials. Based on the Okala scorebook, the most impacts are black pigment, glue, and rubber soles. The Impact/ lifetime (for the product going to landfill): 1.67/ year
I input the Bill of Materials to Sustainable Minds website and based on the chart, the most significant impacts are global warming and fossil fuel depletion.
GOALS
1. Create a sandal that motivates the consumer to raise their awareness of recycling
2. Eliminating harmful materials - glueless design
IDEATION SKETCHES
PROTOTYPES
First Round Mockup
Second Round Mockup
Cutting the sandals based on my own feet size
Test time!
Step 1
Step 2
Step 3
3. Reduce transportation impact
Different shapes of midsoles to test comfortability
Personalized Uniquely for You!
4. Use renewable sources
Baby shoe scale
Exploring forms of straps and closing system
Tried to use as less material as possible: two materials
Ready to test the sandals!
The less strap the better (prevent straps rubbing against skin & reducing materials)
Little arch support is better than no arch support
CMF MOODBOARD
Designed to Recycle!
Brown Sugar
Almond
Apricot Crush
Olive Green
Bloom Pink
FINAL PRODUCT
Recycled Polyester
Cork Composite (compression molded)
Natural Rubber (insert molded)
rETAIL EXPERIENCE
Choose your outsole based on the activities that suit your personality! (options: casual, outdoor trail, and water sports)
You can have the freedom to mix and match your straps!
The packaging is designed to spread awareness of recycling, and be part of the change!
PACKAGING SYSTEM
Scan the barcode on the bottom right and it will send you to this website.
The website will provide everything you need to know on how to recycle your used sandals including where parts of the sandals go at their end of life.
TEVAFORYOU PACK OUT
Velcro
Cork composite midsole
Natural rubber outsole
Upcycled Polyester straps
Upcycled polyester drawstring bag
For casual walks
For hiking on rocky trails
For water activities
Brand tag
SUSTAINABILITY COMPARISON
Improvements: locally sourced, and 100% recyclable eliminating any landfills. To separate the midsole and outsole, a special saw is needed by the manufacturer.
Improvements: no additives or adhesives used, reduce the use of virgin plastics, and use more renewable materials. The impact/ lifetime is 0.75/ year (decrease by 54.85%)
Improvements: impacts per three year of use is decreased by 95%, global warming decreased by 44.26%, and fossil fuel depletion decreased by 48.48%)
STAKEHOLDERS
Customers:
Outdoor communities
Third-Party:
Transport
Online stores
Retail stores
Suppliers:
Manufacturers
Energy suppliers
Teva:
Employees
Managers
Owners
Why is it important?
Each people in these stakeholders will create big impact if they work together in creating this system alive.
CONCLUSION
Sometimes we, as a consumer, don’t know the impact we’ve created on the world. Little things such as brands communicating transparently can have a larger impact on sustainability to their consumers. If we familiarize ourselves with the process of recycling, we can already be part of the change. Therefore, take action!
MAKING PROCESS
I CNCed some cork
I created the holes by hand using a dremel tool
Next step is sanding them!
Stitched some velcro onto a strap
Putting them all together to create the sandals
Dyed the straps and printed the pattern onto the fabric
I put the final product on my Gradshow!