We all have them don’t we?  Usually more than one pair.  They’re lying at the bottom of our closet gathering dust.  Worn just enough that you’d rather use a different pair but not worn enough to throw away.  What am I taking about?  That stacks of used walking sneakers of course.  We’ve all fallen prey to the impulse to purchase a new pair of sneakers not because we really need them but because you’ve tired of you old pair and just want a change.  Now this walking gear been sitting there for a month or two, what to do with them?  Throw them away?  There is a better idea.  There are a number of organizations that will gladly take them off your hands…or in this case your feet.

The first obvious recipient would be your favorite local charity organization.  Those that collect used clothing.  Goodwill Industries comes to mind, but there are many others.  They typically have drop off points or schedule periodic pickups. 

That’s the obvious one but there are many others.  For example Nike has a program called Reuse-a-shoe.  You drop off your old walking sneaker at one of their locations (a locator can be found on their web site) and they will break the shoes down into its component parts and recycle it into what’s called Nike Grind.  A raw material used in constructing the soft flooring for basketball courts and running tracks.

Soles4Souls is another great organization that ships walking sneakers both new and used to the needy around the world.  They encourage people to set up shoe collection drives and provides some “how to” information.  Their motto “Changing the World, One Pair at a Time” gives you their perspective.   You simply box up your old sneakers and send them to one of their three warehouse locations.

Another is Heart and Sole a program affiliated with Michigan State University’s College of Osteopathic Medicine.  They have been collecting and redistributing used walking sneakers to charitable organizations around the globe since 1999.

Others include:

One World Running

Sole Responsibility

The Shoe Bank

Another excellent source for finding drop of locations is Recycled Runners. Com.  A directory of sneaker collection programs.  Keep in mind that most of these organizations are looking for slightly worn walking sneakers so if the old sneakers are really ”old” save them for the Nike recycle program. 

So if you’re tired of stumbling over that stack of old walking gear why not donate them to one of these organizations.  You’ll be helping the needy, the environment and yourself.

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