Jumping, Feet First, into Environmentalism

When it comes to environmentalism and recycling, Gary Gagnon of Charlotte, North Carolina, is “walking the talk.” He says that ,with more than 300 million pairs of shoes thrown away last year, in the United States, alone (according to the shoe charity Soles4Souls), it’s time to start making and wearing footwear that can be 100 percent recycled.

You may recognize Gary’s name. He appeared on episode 15 of the ABC-TV show, “Shark Tank,” a few weeks ago (see video)—pitching his new brand of sneakers, REMYXX, to a panel of venture capitalists—and was approached at the end of his segment by founder and CEO of the FUBU line of apparel, Daymond John, who offered to take an 80 percent share in his company. But more on that later.

It was in June 2009 when, Gagnon, a husband, father of two boys, and self-employed manufacturer’s representative for home décor items, experienced his “sneaker epiphany.”

He recalls, “I was preparing to take out the trash when I saw a pair of my wife’s old shoes and two beaten pairs of my boys’ sneakers in the regular trash, right next to the recycling bin. As an avid, suburban recycler, I thought, ‘Wouldn’t it be nice if all the worn-out shoes that get thrown away, ending up in our landfills, could instead be recycled?’ So, I went to work.”

Fast forward almost three years and the garage entrepreneur has cleared the testing and retesting stages for his REMYXX brand of sneakers—made of what he calls “a proprietary poly blend or secret sauce.” (In fact, the numeral five inside the recycling logo prominently featured on every shoe represents polypropene, a thermoplastic polymer used in a wide variety of applications including packaging and labeling, and textiles.).

He is now marketing REMYXX cool sneakers—the world’s first and only completely “Landfill-Free Sneakers.”  The shoes have been brightly designed by his wife, who owns her own tee-shirt and logo business, and starting at Youth Size 4, they have been tested by all of the neighborhood children, as well as Gagnon’s sons.

How are they different from brands such as SIMPLE sneakers, which are made from recyclable materials? “Those folks had a great idea: They made sneakers by recycling water bottle and old tires—but the sneakers, themselves, are not recyclable. That’s our special niche,” says Gagnon. “When a customer is finished wearing our sneakers, they can mail them back to me, get $5 off their next pair, and be assured that I will have them completely recycled. While it’s not possible to put them out at the curb with the rest of the recycling yet, I am ensuring that they don’t end up in the landfill at the end of their life cycle.”

Because he wants to pass the business on to his sons, Gagnon has not accepted the generous offer from Daymond John of FUBU. “We are starting our marketing in local specialty stores, as well as online at Kickstarter, where the sneakers can line sneakers.”

He adds that, “Daymond has been generous with his time and his advice, and we plan to keep him in the loop for the future of the company.”Meanwhile, Gagnon urges, “For the good of your feet, for the good of the planet, Reduce, Reuse, and REMYXX.”