Media start-up wants to produce sneakers

Flip is partnering with shoe manufacturer Monaco Ducks to distribute a recycled sneaker. This was triggered by research conducted by the medium.

The media start-up Flip wants to launch a recycled sneaker on the market. To do so, the company is now launching a crowdfunding round together with shoe manufacturer Monaco Ducks.

Flip became known a few months ago thanks to the research project "Sneakerjagd," in which the journalistic founders followed the path of a sneaker from Germany to Africa. There, the barely usable sneakers would primarily pollute the environment, according to the findings of the research. A problem that large manufacturers wouldn't care about, according to Flip co-founder Christian Salewski: "We therefore decided that we would look for a solution in a radically constructive way."

For the sneaker, called Marabu, Flip and Monaco Ducks plan to shred the trash sneakers from Kenya into a granule and process it into a new shoe. The local partner is Kenyan startup Africa Collect Textiles. "We are not the world's garbage dump," says Alex Musembi, co-founder of the company. "A recycled sneaker that helps fight the problem locally is overdue and can become part of the solution."

For the Kickstarter campaign, Flip and Monaco Ducks have created their own company called GNRD. Those who want to can virtually pre-order one of the pairs of shoes there and have them delivered to them once the funding goal is reached.