Give A New Life And Look To Your Old Sneakers By Painting Them

Sneakers are a part of almost every hip youngster's wardrobe. Primarily used for sports, these shoes are today worn casually too. According to a report, the global sneaker market is expected to grow to $196 billion by 2030. But there is a dark reality behind these shoes. Not only are harmful chemicals used in their manufacturing but most of these sneakers either end up in landfills or are incinerated, causing land, water and air pollution. The carbon emission from one pair of sneakers can keep a 100-watt light bulb on for a week. But every problem has a solution. And the solution to this problem is simple - repurposing.

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What started as an experiment has now become a passion project for 26-year-old Ishita Aggarwal. Recalling her journey, Ishita said,

I started painting sneakers as a part of a customisation service that I was offering through my brand which was basically painting clothes for my customers. When I started painting the clothes, I realised that there are a lot of other things that we can do with just paints. So, instead of only offering customisation which is painting on new clothes, I started offering a service which is painting your old sneakers or old clothes instead. Let's say there is a pair of shoes that you have been using for the past three or four years and you are ready to throw them and buy new ones. So, instead of discarding them, we can use regular paints, create a whole new idea and repurpose them for another year or a few months at least.

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Though she may have just started, her talent with the brush has already caught a fair bit of attention with people asking her to paint their old sneakers. Sharing the response of her friends and the support she has received from them, Ishita said,

A lot of my friends have been very supportive in this case because our generation is slowly and gradually realising that climate change is for real and we are so used to fast fashion that we are not realising that it is harming the environment. In fact, the response has been rolling really quickly. They have been telling their friends. I have been getting a lot of their old shoes to paint them, clean them and turn them into something new.

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Anything can be a canvas for our imaginations and in this case, it just happens to be old sneakers. By repurposing them, you can do your bit in keeping old sneakers out of landfills. Talking more about painting shoes, Ishita said,

Nothing can be perfect, right? Painting is a fun activity and you have to make good use of everything that you are doing. So, if anything is going haywire, it is completely alright. We spend a lot of time in deciding what to buy, and what to wear but before discarding them away we don't really think about it. So, instead of simply throwing them, you can spend some time and paint. It is something you can do it by yourself too. There are lots of ways to repurpose, reimagine and just go all out with all your old wardrobe items instead of throwing them away.

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