You can take a great pair of shoes almost anywhere. Unstitched Utilities makes shoes that have been lots of places already.

That’s because almost all the materials that make up an Unstitched shoe are recycled. Their lining is Polar Fleece, a brand of insulation made from recycled plastic bottles. Some of the shoes are constructed of woven sacks, once used to carry rice in bulk. Even bits of old tire make a decorative addition to one of the designs. But the most distinctive, and fascinating, material Unstitched uses is Tyvek.

Tyvek is one of those miracle materials. Wear a Tyvek suit and you can walk into a fiery building and not be burned. Take it into the ocean and you won’t get wet. Buy a shoe made of Tyvek, and you can even make the world a better place, because Tyvek is composed of recycled polyurethanes. If you remove it from your Unstitched shoe, you can recycle it all over again.

“Our goal was never simply to make an eco-friendly product,” remembers Mark Kane, one of the three former FILA executives who founded Unstitched in 2010. “We were more intrigued by the way Tyvek looked, and the properties it had. One of our partners, Kevin Crowley, used to work with Hazmat suits, which are made of the stuff. He thought it had potential for shoes, too. He owned a Tyvek diving suit, and he brought me and [third partner] Jack Steinweis to his farm to show us that and talk ideas.”

Crowley kept his diving suit in a pretty unique environment: a workshop, located in a silo, accessible by a spiral staircase. Maybe that fired each man’s imagination all the more. Because, as Crowley began expounding the virtues of Tyvek—durability, breathability, light weight, a wrinkly grunge appealing to modern tastes—the real potential of Unstitched became clear. The company wouldn’t just make good shoes. It would make shoes that were good for the planet.

Now in its second year, Unstitched continues to expand its line of everyday shoes and boots for men and women. And its founders continue to live up to their eco-friendly mandate.

“We keep seeking out new ideas and new material options where we can,” says Kane. “We’ve already begun using synthetic leather in some of our shoes, making them vegan-friendly. We want to find a rubber substitute, too. Right now, the soles of our shoes aren’t made from any reclaimed material, but we’re doing our best to fix that.”

The partners are also thinking ahead in other ways. Tyvek makes a great shoe—what about a bag? Maybe a blouse? Who knows?

In a world of finite resources, possibilities can still be endless.

Photo Credit: VA Steamworks