TFC take-back project advances in California: 30,525 lbs of footwear now with circular innovators

LOS ANGELES - EntSun -- Last October, consumers across L.A. brought used shoes, any brand and condition, to 50 participating Goodwill SoCal locations. Footwear in good, wearable condition was offered for sale through their existing resale stores and outlets. Shoes that were not sold were directed to sortation partner Homeboy Threads, a Los Angeles-based social enterprise, who sorted, studied, and prepared the shoes for processing, generating critical insights.

This marks the first multi-brand-led take-back initiative in the US industry to collectively advance pathways for recycling end-of-life footwear. TFC is bringing brands, circular innovators, social enterprises, and material processors together into a unified initiative, advancing shared infrastructure at a scale not previously realized by any single organization.

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Real solutions for recycling end-of-life footwear exist and are advancing fast. Yet the industry needs to develop a system that brings these approaches together at scale, making recovered materials accessible, affordable, and broadly available. This project is an initial step toward that future. The sorted footwear is being distributed to three material processing partners: FastFeetGrinded, Supercircle, and TerraCycle.

"We are learning from each step of the process to develop the business case that shows collective action is the right way to keep shoes circulating," said Dr. Yuly Fuentes-Medel, Executive Director of TFC. "We are data-focused, because we know those insights are key to building the infrastructure we need, starting with CA, and expanding beyond."

What makes this initiative a first of its kind is its collective approach, accepting post-consumer footwear of any brand and any condition, and following it through every step of the process. Every step is a learning opportunity, and every finding moves the industry one step closer to a future where every shoe keeps circulating.

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Full press release: https://earthdna.org/2026/04/28/footwear-futures-project-moves-to-the-step/

About The Footwear Collective TFC is driving a collaborative approach to the footwear industry, dedicated to scoping, developing, and scaling circular solutions. As a membership organization with 11 leading footwear brands and retailers, including Altra, Brooks, Crocs, ECCO, New Balance, ON, Reformation, Steve Madden, Target, and Vans, we're reimagining the entire lifecycle of footwear—more at earthdna.org/home/the-footwear-collective.

About the Footwear Futures Project The Footwear Futures Project is the first initiative launched by TFC to evaluate and scale circular solutions for the footwear industry. Through on-the-ground partnerships, the project collects used footwear, keeps wearable pairs in circulation, and advances pathways for material recovery—more at footwearfuturesproject.org.