Simplicity Slap: End-of-Life Design in Indian Footwear: Paving a Circular Pathway for Sustainable India
End-of-Life Design in Indian Footwear: Paving a Circular Pathway for Sustainable India The Indian footwear industry, projected to surpass $20 billion in 2025, is celebrated for its diversity, affordability, and creative spirit. Yet beneath this growth lies an urgent environmental challenge: how to deal with the billions of pairs consumed every year that mostly end up in landfills. The answer lies in End-of-Life (EOL) Design — a holistic approach integrating recycling, biodegradability, and disassembly into every stage of production. Understanding End-of-Life Design: What Does It Mean? EOL Design reimagines how footwear is conceived, manufactured, used, and discarded. Unlike the linear “take-make-dispose” model, it aligns with circular economy principles — designing shoes so materials can be safely separated, recycled, or composted. It demands modular construction, biodegradable adhesives, and single-material components that simplify recycling and reduce planetary impact. The...