Anna Sneaker from ESG

The Anna Sneaker is the exemplary product of circular design. It was made from recycled jeans and is designed to be recycled again.

European Spinning Group is a Flemish family-owned company in the textile sector. For some years now, ESG has been producing new yarn from recycled jeans fibres. This yarn was turned into Anna: a trendy, sustainable sneaker that can be disassembled again at the end of its life to serve as a raw material for another product.

The textile industry is one of the most polluting in the world and creates tons of waste every year. Less than 1% of the collected textiles are recycled back into textiles, therefore new raw materials are always needed for new products. European Spinning Group (ESG) wants to set an example for the industry by not only recycling materials, but upcycling them. With the fibers of old jeans clothing, the company makes new yarn, which is used in new products. One such product made from old jeans, among others, is Anna. This sneaker is an example case of what is possible with upcycled material, packaged in a hip and marketable product.

The Anna sneaker goes one step further: not only is it made from used materials, it can also be easily disassembled at the end of its life. The reclaimed materials can then serve as raw materials for another product. This makes it the epitome of circular design.

The impact of its production is also low: the use of recycled materials and the omission of the dyeing process result in major savings in water consumption and in CO2 emissions, compared to the use of standard new cotton. A local, circular production chain lowers the footprint of global transportation, and the sneaker is made of biodegradable fibers, eliminating additional plastic waste.

In 2019, ESG developed the sneaker together with CREAX in the 5x5® project of Designregion Kortrijk and with the support of the Dutch Knitwearlab. For now, Anna is not yet for sale anywhere. She was presented as a concept at the Biennale Interieur Kortrijk.