Bring your Old Shoes, Turn Them into Something Fantastic (Suitable for all ages)

The sales and marketing of shoes, especially sales of trainers, has long been driven by

intensive marketing hype. Billions of shoes are made and sold every year, yet due to the complexity of their manufacture, they are very hard to recycle. The dizzying combination of plastic, leather, rubber, foam, metal and adhesives means that sneakers can take up to 1,000 years to biodegrade. Whilst there are organisations trying to stop unwanted shoes going to waste, about 90% of shoes still end up in landfill.

One way to prevent this is to recycle them. There are several ways of doing this, and customisation could be one of them, creating a chance to stem the tide of waste. Raising awareness about this and giving shoes a second chance in the fashion system could potentially have an important impact on our planet.

Everyone has at least one pair of shoes that sits unloved in the back of the closet. Led by footwear designer Hernan Guardamagna, these half-day workshops will show you how to rekindle the love you once had for your shoes, restoring them to practical items that give you renewed pleasure and a useful purpose. They are likely to appeal to anyone with an interest in shoes, recycling, sustainability, fashion, sneakers, DIY, crafts and arts and will be suitable for adults, families, accompanied children etc.

To participate in this workshop please bring the shoes that you would like to customise. Give them a good cleaning before the workshop so they are ready to work with when you arrive. Materials will be provided, however, if you have any accessories or decorative materials that you would like to use, please bring them along. There will be some shoe-related activities for the little ones and those who attend the workshop without any shoes to customise.

 The event will be hosted by Art in the Docks, a 5 minute walk from Gallions Reach DLR station. There is no parking available on site.

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This event is part of the Art in the Docks summer programme 'What a Load of Rubbish'.

With support from The Royal Docks.