In celebration of World Environment Day on June 5, global nonprofit organisation Soles4Souls Asia and Bridgestone Indonesia, a part of tyre and rubber corporation Bridgestone, announced an exciting new project to turn recycled tyres into shoes for people in need around the world. The project aims to convert at least 40,000 tyres into approximately 400,000 pairs of shoes by the end of 2022. Aside from providing their used tyres, Bridgestone Indonesia has pledged US$60,000 to assist Soles4Souls Asia in this sustainable relief effort.
The initiative is hoped to serve as an important reminder for the world to address pressing environmental concerns and strive toward a sustainable society. For Bridgestone, by diverting their end-of-life tyres from landfills and putting them to good use, the partnership is expected to help drive toward a circular economy that eliminates waste through the continual use of resources. It also allows the tyres a new lease of life as soles for shoes.
Buddy Teaster, President and CEO of Soles4Souls Asia, said, “Bridgestone Indonesia has been committed to both finding the most sustainable way to use their products and be able to do the most good with it.
“It is our great pleasure to partner with Bridgestone Indonesia and other like-minded partners, who share our passion for helping the environment to manufacture and put shoes on the feet of people who need them most.”
Commencing the project, Bridgestone Indonesia and Soles4Souls Asia will work with Indosole, a sustainable shoe brand based in Indonesia. Indosole will manufacture the shoes in their factories and sell them both online and in stores across the world; for every pair of shoes sold, a portion will be donated back to Soles4Souls Asia to be distributed to people in need, firstly across countries and communities in Asia. With their extensive relief programme spread across three continents – Soles4Souls has been able to distribute more than 40 million pairs of shoes in 129 countries since 2006 – the donation is expected to further expand relief efforts and break the cycle of poverty in much of Asia and the world.
“On this World Environment Day, we are delighted to announce our collaboration with Soles4Souls Asia, which was born out of a shared vision of advancing an environmentally-sustainable society by supporting a truly circular economy – values underpinned by Bridgestone’s Global CSR commitment, ‘Our Way to Serve’,” said Mukiat Sutikno, Managing Director of Bridgestone Indonesia.
“We hope this initiative can contribute towards reducing tyre waste and our carbon footprint, while also supporting the needy in our communities.”