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Teva’s sandal straps are now made entirely from recycled plastic

Words by Ella Bazzani Hockley

Sustainability never looked so ugly-cute.

In the past few years, Teva’s thick-strap sandals have broken the mould of what we consider tasteful. No longer relegated to fishing-and-camping stores, we’re seeing a lot more of the divisive, quick-drying sports sandal. 

And starting this year, all of the brand’s iconic straps will be made using traceable, verifiable recycled plastic. By using Repreve® yarn to create these textiles, Teva has kept over nine million plastic bottles out of landfill so far. 

The Teva Winter 2020 collection features a fresh take on the iconic foam footbed style, with the new recycled velcro straps in monochrome or contrast colours, as well as Navajo prints, batik stripes and celestial stars and moons. The foam footbeds themselves come in both flat and platform silhouettes, referencing styles from the ’80s and ’90s.

In addition to the velcro-strap style, over 70 per cent of the brand’s other sandals will be made with the same recycled polyester. The recycling process takes discarded plastic bottles, then cleans, shreds and turns them into pellets. 

Teva’s climate-conscious initiatives are likely contributing to its growing popularity. Since 2017, the brand has reduced its water usage by 32 per cent across all its manufacturing, has pledged to support the Better Cotton initiative, and sourced all its leather from tanneries certified by the Leather Working Group. 

au.teva.com

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