- Reuters tracked 11 pairs of donated shoes to test a recycling program launched by Dow and Singapore.
- Most landed in markets or remote areas in Indonesia, which banned used-apparel imports in 2015.
In 2021, the US chemical company Dow and Singapore's government promised to transform the rubber from old shoes into playground and running-track surfaces.
That's not what happened to 11 pairs of sneakers in which a team of Reuters reporters hid tracking devices. After dropping the shoes in the program's recycling bins across Singapore, Reuters traced most of the shoes to secondhand markets or remote locations in Indonesia.
The news service concealed Bluetooth trackers in the interior soles of the sneakers and then followed the shoes for months on a smartphone app that showed their movements in real time.
Reuters reported that it wanted to test whether Dow's program was achieving its stated goals because the major plastic maker had fallen short on previous recycling promises. Environmental groups accuse chemical companies like Dow of making false promises about recycling plastic to convince the public that throw-away consumer culture is sustainable, as well as to fend off stricter regulations on items like single-use plastic packaging.
Dow completed its own investigation with other sponsors of the program after Reuters reported its findings.
As part of its inquiry, Dow removed a secondhand-goods exporter in Singapore, Yok Impex Pte Ltd., from the program. The logistics manager of the exporter told Reuters it had been hired to retrieve shoes from donation bins and deliver them to a waste-management company involved in the shoe-recycling program. Instead, 10 pairs were moved to the exporter's own facilities and then on to Indonesia, which neighbors Singapore. The logistics manager said it was a mistake.
Dow did not explain to Reuters why a used-clothing exporter was hired for the program in the first place, nor did it disclose how many shoes had been collected and recycled in the program. A 2021 media release said the program aimed to divert 170,000 pairs of shoes annually from landfills.
The company told Reuters the shoe-recycling program was making progress, citing two sports facilities under construction in Singapore set to use old-shoe material in its surfaces.
"The project partners do not condone any unauthorized removal or export of shoes collected through this program," Kyle Bandlow, a spokesperson for Dow, told Insider in an email. He added that Dow and its partners in the program are working to find another company to handle the collection of the shoes. Bandlow also said that the program has recovered nearly 10,000 kilograms — or about 22,000 pounds — of recycled shoe material.
Indonesia in 2015 banned the import of used clothing and footwear to help protect its local textile industry and safeguard public hygiene. But an illegal secondhand market still proliferates, Reuters found, adding to the country's mounting garbage problem.
A small percentage of used clothing can get a second life, while the rest ends up in landfills, according to the Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives, a nonprofit that advocates for preventing waste.