How Kane is Upcycling Its Recovery Footwear Into Yoga Mats

Kane Sustain

Creating a fully sustainable circle for footwear is one of those nuts that nobody can seem to crack. Sustainable shoes are often much less comfortable than their oil-based foam counterparts (or cost too much to produce), the end-of-life recycling process is often too cost prohibitive or plain difficult, and oftentimes, it’s a combination of both.

Kane Footwear, a leader in sustainable active recovery footwear, is trying to fix that with Project Renew– an upcycling program that allows customers to turn their Revive slip-ons into yoga and changing mats for surfing.

Kane x Lava Rubber yoga mat is made from recycled shoes and wetsuits

Kane is well-positioned for an upcycle story. Most footwear has a handful of different materials, making it difficult to separate and designate for specific recycling programs. Think shoelaces, outsole rubber, midsole foam, stitching, insoles, etc. However, Kane’s flagship footwear, the Revive slip-on, is made with RestoreFoam, a plant-based EVA foam composed of over 75% Brazilian sugarcane byproduct.

We’ve reviewed Kane in the past, and you’ll often find us or one of our reviewers reaching for the Revive as part of our day-to-day recovery in the summer months. They’re super comfortable, breathable, and, of course– sustainable.

How It Works

Like all footwear, eventually Kanes wear out. However, instead of chucking them in the trash, Kane customers can now do more. At the end of its life, Kane customers can request a prepaid shipping label from Kane, and the shoes will be sent to Lava Rubber, a company that specializes in upcycling wetsuits and other gear into various products.

Lava Rubber will then shred the Kane footwear into flakes that can be then incorporated with the wetsuit compound to create a one-of-a-kind yoga mat as part of the Kane x Lava Rubber Mat Collection. The whole process ends up keeping five pounds of scrap out of the landfill.

The program begins on April 11, and for doing their part, Kane customers will receive a $10 credit off their next purchase of Kane footwear.

Additionally, Kane will also be launching their annual Earth Day shoe in the Sunset/Earth Speckle colorway on April 5, celebrating the heritage of the Brazilian sugarcane that inspired their product.

You can purchase the Kane Revive for $75 at the shop links below.