Recycled school shoes

School Shoes from Recycled Waste

A second life for medical waste – A first step towards a brighter future

Turning Waste Into Hope:
The Environmental Impact of My Walk Made with Soul shoes is evident in every step a child takes in their own pair of school shoes. Each pair represents more than a stride toward education—it's also a step toward a cleaner, more sustainable planet. Around the world, companies are being called to rethink how they produce, consume, and dispose of materials. In South Africa, this responsibility is enshrined in law.

Environmental Management:
The National Environmental Management: Waste Act (2008), requires producers to take full accountability for the environmental impact of their products—not only during manufacturing, but throughout the entire product life cycle, including after disposal. My Walk Made with Soul turns this obligation into an opportunity by transforming medical waste into something meaningful - the most beautiful recycled shoes in South Africa!

From Medical Waste to

My Walk Made with Soul School Shoes

Our My Walk Made with Soul shoes begin their journey in hospitals, where used, uncontaminated IV bags, oxygen masks, and tubing are collected. These items, made from Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC), are strong, flexible, and — most importantly — 100% recyclable. While PVC accounts for about 40% of all medical plastics, it’s often incinerated or sent to landfill. We believe it deserves a second life by becoming a My Walk shoe! Through an innovative process supported by Netcare and Adcock Ingram Critical Care, this discarded plastic is turned into durable, high-quality recycled school shoes — reducing pressure on landfills, cutting carbon emissions, and conserving natural resources. PVC is a thermoplastic, which means it can be recycled repeatedly without compromising its quality. In fact, the recycled PVC we use performs almost identically to brand-new material, making it a perfect fit for our sturdy, long-lasting school shoes.

Recycle

Brand new school shoes

Through an innovative partnership supported by Netcare and Adcock Ingram Critical Care, we recycle uncontaminated IV drip bags, oxygen masks, and tubing into strong, stylish, and fully recyclable school shoes. It’s a shining example of the circular economy in action — giving medical waste a second life and giving children a powerful first step toward a brighter future.

Dispose

Participating Netcare Hospitals dispose of non-hazardous, uncontaminated PVC drip bags, oxygen masks and associated tubing into dedicated My Walk Made with Soul bins.

Collect

Southern Basadi staff members collect the PVC products from the hospitals in a custom-made My Walk Made with Soul trailer, and sort the products.

Sorting

Uncontaminated PVC products are sorted, washed and granulated into smaller pieces prior to entering the manufacturing phase.

Produce

Granules are melted at very high temperatures and injection moulded into specially designed moulds to make shiny, durable and comfortable school shoes!

Distribute

Packaged with love and distributed with soul.

Did you know?

You might not know this, but

Just 20 empty IV bags are enough to make one pair of shoes. Our custom machines take only 17 seconds to create one shoe, and just over a minute to complete two pairs. This is sustainability that transforms lives, reducing healthcare waste while making an immediate, meaningful difference for our most vulnerable citizens: our children.

Since launching in 2019, My Walk Made with Soul has recycled over 150,000 kilograms of medical waste and donated more than 300,000 pairs of school shoes.
That’s 300,000 lives touched.
300,000 journeys made safer.
300,000 stories of hope.