I love the idea of reuse. It just makes so much sense. I really love when a new product is made, with good clean clever design, out of materials that would otherwise just be sitting in a garbage pile for the next century or so. Here are two examples of companies taking something old and turning it into something new and better for everyone.

Worn Again, a U.K. based company, makes their funky shoes and accessories from 99% recycled materials. They use tires, seat belts, and even firemen’s trousers!

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Upper: Firemen’s trousers, scrap leather from car seats.
Lining: Lining from firemen’s trousers, jeans and men’s shirts.
Sole: Recycled rubber.

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Car tyre, scrap car seat leather, seat belts.
Leather in the sandals comes from all sorts of different cars so each sandal is unique and may not be the same as image.
This makes every single pair completely unique and there will not be another one in the world exactly like yours!

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Nike has figured out how to give their customers more use out of their products. The Reuse-A-Shoe program collects old shoes and turns them into what they call Nike Grind material. It has been used to make all kinds of athletic surfaces. I love a squishy track–like the one around Seokchon Lake (석촌) and Lotte World.

For neat stuff made from old stuff in Seoul, there’s a great little cafe/shop in Insadong, right near Biwon, called Fair Trade Coffee. They have a workshop where they make purses and wallets from leather couches, slippers for your house from used jeans, and all sorts of other clever products. They also have lovely tea.

If you know of any other places in Seoul to find eco-friendly fashion, Miss Koco wants to know all about it!

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