Video: These athletes are reusing discarded shoes to help underprivileged children

Shoes are one of the most precious parts of one’s wardrobe and people constantly keep updating their apparel with the latest trends in footwear. But when a certain kind of footwear goes out of style, that one favourite pair of shoes also loses its importance and is discarded after some time.

While we don’t think twice before throwing away our pair of shoes in order to create space in our wardrobe, these shoes become a part of 35 crore pairs that are discarded every year worldwide, only to add to non-biodegradable waste.

As athletes gave the country something to celebrate after the Rio Olympics, there are some who are trying to help the underprivileged with possessions we throw away. An initiative called Greensole, which is run by athletes Shriyans Bhandari and Ramesh Dhami is turning your old shoes into new and trendy footwear for the less privileged since 2013.

The athletes thought of the initiative when they realised they were discarding almost four pairs of shoes a year due to their training. Since the souls of their torn shoes were intact, they realised how they can be reused after being repaired.

The organisation is now tying up with NGOs and schools, aims to ensure that no section of society remains barefoot by 2023 and also wants to tackle pollution and global warming by making sure that the shoes don’t land in dumping yards as non-biodegradable waste.

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