PARIS – In a bustling workshop on the outskirts of Paris, a dedicated team faces an unusual task: evaluating the fate of a constant stream of second-hand sneakers. Their mission is straightforward yet challenging—determining which shoes can be given a new lease on life.
Spearheading this effort is SneakCœurZ, a nonprofit committed to sorting through these sneakers to decide which can be resold or donated, and which, unfortunately, must be discarded. Last year, they gathered 30,000 pairs and successfully resold 2,000. Their ambition is to significantly expand this initiative.
“Today, there is no project of this scale in the sneaker sector,” noted Mohamed Boukhatem, the director general and co-founder of the organization. “We are the only ones capable of industrializing both the processes and the collection of sneakers for reuse.”
This project highlights a pressing environmental issue in France, especially in Paris, a city that has long been synonymous with fashion and luxury. The stakes are high, as the textile industry is a major contributor to global pollution.
According to the United Nations, the fashion and textiles sector is responsible for up to 8% of all greenhouse gas emissions worldwide. In 2020, the European Parliament identified textiles as the third-largest source of water degradation and land use within the European Union.
In France, the scale of the problem is underscored by figures from Refashion, an eco-organization endorsed by the French government. In 2024 alone, a staggering 259 million pairs of shoes were sold in the country.
It says only about a third of used textiles and footwear are separately collected, with much of the rest left in cupboards or thrown away with household waste.
At its workshop in Champs-sur-Marne, workers for SneakCœurZ inspect the used shoes and check which can be salvaged.
“The structural elements of the shoe are what determine whether we can refurbish it or not,” workshop manager Paul Defawes Abadie said.
“A damaged Velcro strap isn’t a deal breaker. A lace isn’t a deal breaker. Dirt is never a deal breaker,” he said. “What really matters is the wear of the structural materials, especially the outsole.”
Pairs that make the cut are cleaned from the sole upward, disinfected inside and, in some cases, whitened under UV light before being put back into circulation.
The nonprofit says it redistributed more than 7,000 pairs to people in need and helped create 19 jobs.
“Over the next three years, the goal is to triple or even quadruple these volumes and move to an industrial scale,” Boukhatem said.
France has tried to respond to the issue of fast-fashion waste with law as well as rhetoric.
Its 2020 anti-waste law requires unsold nonfood goods to be reused, donated or recycled instead of destroyed.
Authorities introduced a state-backed repair bonus for clothing and shoes in November 2023. Separately, lawmakers are still working on a bill aimed at reducing the textile industry’s environmental impact.
The bill passed the National Assembly in March 2024 and the Senate in June 2025, and the government said in February that it was still aiming for a joint parliamentary committee this spring.
Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
