With research showing that the production of one pair of sneakers emits 30 pounds of carbon dioxide, one man urges consumers to kick the habit of new shoe hoarding & tossing.
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A tree-hugging Philadelphian with a green thumb, a big heart and an open mind, is putting his best feet forward to contribute to solving a big social problem that affects us all—climate change.
48 year-old Ogbonna Hagins, a former Philadelphia public school teacher living in the hyper-gentrified Graduate Hospital area of the city, hasn’t bought a pair of shoes for himself or his kids in the last five years. And despite being foreign to shoe stores like Sneaker Villa, Foot Locker and Olympia Sports, Hagins regularly walks pass rows of sneakers and shoes and freely picks out the ones best suited for himself and his family – the others he sells.
Everyday Hagins collects at least 100 pairs of sneakers and shoes on the streets of Philadelphia, on a good day he reaches a three digits shoe count within five hours of being outside. Aware that the production of one pair of sneakers may produce the same emissions as powering a 100-watt light bulb for a whole week, Hagins says with urgency:
We gotta find a way to make people aware of what they’re doing. More importantly, we gotta find a way to make people aware of what they CAN do!
With a number of surveys confirming that the average American man owns 12 pairs of shoes and the average American woman owns a whopping 27 pairs, Hagins, who’s also concerned with the amount of plastic bags wasted during minor convenience store purchases – like chips and sodas – suggests people should wear the shoes until they are unable to do so and then not throw them away, but recycle them.
Researchers note in the study released by MIT that the manufacturing process in sneaker production is the major polluter, as much of the carbon impact came from powering manufacturing plants in China, where coal is the dominant source of electricity. Researchers also suggest that scraps can be recycled, and parts of the shoe can be combined to eliminate energy-intensive steps, like cutting and welding. Hagins, however, recycles them for profit, as he exports them to third world countries for about $2-5 a pair, depending on quality.
And while he knows that on the grand scheme of things his hyper-local sneaker recycling business isn’t having a major impact on like climate change adaptation, he feels comfortable in the fact that everyday he’s putting his best feet forward to do his part in saving the planet.
So if you’re thinking about throwing away your sneakers and shoes don’t! Give Ogbonna Hagins a call at 484.540.5340 and he’ll travel to you and take about 30 pounds of carbon dioxide emissions off your hands.
Thanks for reading. Until next time, I’m Flood the Drummer® & I’m Drumming for JUSTICE!™
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