Nonprofit SneakCoeurZ is in the business of sorting the shoes to check which ones can be resold or redistributed and which have to be rejected. It says it collected 30,000 pairs of used sneakers last year and resold 2,000 pairs and wants to scale up that process. Refashion, the French government-approved eco-organization for clothing, household linen and footwear, says 259 million pairs of shoes were sold in France in 2024. At its workshop in Champs-sur-Marne, workers for SneakCoeurZ inspect the used shoes and check which can be salvaged. Used sneakers are stored in a room of SneakCoeurZ on Wednesday before they go on to find a new life.

Source: Taipei Times March 28, 2026 17:14 UTC