Former Sudburian creates biodegradable shoe
Luc Houle, a Toronto-based designer who is originally from Greater Sudbury, started a Kickstarter campaign for biodegradable shoes in August and has raised more than $70,000.
He created ‘Jonny Footwear,‘ a company that makes biodegradable shoes that will eventually turn into apple trees once the shoe is planted.
Houle said it took about three years to research and develop the shoes.
“We figured if it’s going to be planted in the ground and if it’s going to decompose there anyway, so why don’t we put an apple seed in there and have it grow into a tree afterwards,” said Houle.
“Once I realized I was going to put seeds in the shoe I wanted to do a nod to John Chapman who is known as Jonny Appleseed. I figured it was just kind of fitting that if you’re going to plant your shoes in the ground hopefully I can have as big as an impact as Jonny Appleseed.”
Houle came up with the idea after working in the fashion industry for seven years.
“What I didn’t realize though until I got into the development side of things was that the majority of shoes are made of plastic and it’s hidden in an area we don’t think about. So, the outsole of the shoe which is the bottom of it is mostly made of plastic,” said Houle.
“So, when you compound all of those numbers that I’ve seen in sales into landfills we’re ending up with a really big problem. To the tune of tens of billions of pairs of years’ world wide.”
He said a regular shoe takes approximately 1,000 years to decompose, but Jimmy Footwear will only take three years once buried.
The shoes are currently on sale at ‘Kickstarter’ for $119.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
What's a Barnacle? It's yellow, sticks and screams if you try to pry it off your car
Barnacles, bright yellow devices used to make sure parking scofflaws pay their tickets, could soon be making their way to cities across Canada.
Verdun Airbnb listing taken down amid complaints, fines and frustration from neighbours
An Airbnb in Montreal's Verdun borough was the source of much frustration from neighbours who say there were constant parties at the location. It has been taken down from the app, but housing advocates remain upset about short-term rentals.
Man who set himself on fire outside Trump trial dies of injuries, police say
A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former U.S. President Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said.
They were from different countries and barely spoke each other's languages. More than 20 years later, they're still happily in love
He decided to spend Christmas somewhere that wouldn't involve snowstorm disasters. She was spending the holidays with family, travelling for the first time outside of her native country of Venezuela. 23 years later, they're still in love.
Young people 'tortured' if stolen vehicle operations fail, Montreal police tell MPs
One day after a Montreal police officer fired gunshots at a suspect in a stolen vehicle, senior officers were telling parliamentarians that organized crime groups are recruiting people as young as 15 in the city to steal cars so that they can be shipped overseas.
A Nigerian chess champion plays the royal game for 60 hours - a new global chess record
A Nigerian chess champion and child education advocate played chess nonstop for 60 hours in New York City's Times Square to break the Guinness World Record for the longest chess marathon.
Fire in Labrador town under control, officials tells residents to stay away
RCMP say the fire that prompted a state of emergency in a Labrador town is now under control.
12 students and teacher killed in Columbine school shooting remembered at 25th anniversary vigil
Thirteen victims of the Columbine High School shooting were remembered during a vigil Friday on the eve of the 25th anniversary of the shooting that was the worst the nation had seen at the time.
Israeli airstrike in southern Gaza city of Rafah kills at least 9 Palestinians, including 6 children
An Israeli airstrike on a house in Gaza's southernmost city killed at least nine people, six of them children, hospital authorities said Saturday, as Israel pursued its nearly seven-month offensive in the besieged Palestinian territory.