Shoes Made with Sweat, Tears, and Passion

Three college students met at a startup club and later started the startup company Tread & Groove. The company name itself clearly indicates that its business is closely related to tires.
“I decided to start my own business when I was still in college, and I was looking for a business that could contribute to the betterment of society. One day, I was watching international news about African people wearing tires on an unpaved road as if they were shoes. And I thought that was it. I believed recycling waste tires would help protect the environment. Back then, I was naïve enough to think that it wouldn’t be so hard to make shoes out of waste tires.” Lee said, noting that how he started the shoe-making business was magical.
The more automobiles running on the streets each year, the more waste tires are generated. Waste tires are reused to make recycled tires and ropes. Still, a significant number of waste tires are just thrown away. These discarded tires are either incinerated or buried. Since tires are organic compounds, however, they can cause serious soil pollution if they permeate deep into the soil or groundwater. If a tire is on fire, it generates toxic chemicals such as dioxin and hydrogen chloride. Tread & Groove started making shoes out of waste tires in the hope that recycling waste tires would help save Earth. Simply reusing waste tires can reduce the amount of pollutants. When he first started the business, he thought it would not be so difficult to make durable shoes out of waste tires. However, he realized later that it was not an easy task at all. With no experience or knowledge, the young students went through trials and errors before finally making a pair of shoes. They encountered hardships after hardships in every step of the way from obtaining and processing tires to designing shoes.
“Nowadays, we get waste tires for free from large corporations like Hankook Tire and Lotte Rental, but when we first started the business, we had to look for waste tires at waste tire yards. Often times, they didn’t even let us in. We visited the handmade shoe factories in Seongsu-dong for advice, but we were rejected at dozens of them. Still, as the saying goes, ‘Heaven helps those who help themselves’; some of the hand-made shoe makers were moved by our relentless devotion, and, with their help, we were finally able to roll out our first shoe model.” he said.

Eco-friendly shoes to suit the style of the MZ generation

Making shoes is a complicated process. It is even more complicated and tricky when the shoes are made of waste tires. The pure rubber layer is carefully separated from the tire and processed into the outsole.
We wash the collected waste tires at our factory, and they go through precision processing to turn them into usable shoe materials. Shoes are made by the heritage method of using the original tire patterns, which involves the special knowhow of Tread & Groove. One waste tire can produce 3 to 4 pairs of shoes. Since the outsole is made out of the rubber torn off a tire, it has a unique, one-and-only design. Tread & Groove produces 12 products including sandals, slippers, sneakers, and boots. Tread & Groove products have good traction and durability, garnering great reviews from consumers.
“The MZ generation today is very much interested in environmental issues. Many of them are curious about shoes made out of waste tires. They think our shoes whose outsole is made of tire will most likely have a better grip so they won’t slip so easily. So majority of our customers are in their 20s and 30s, due to the synergistic effects of these factors.” he explained.
He went on to add that they worked with Hankook Tire recently and launched the limited edition of sneakers named ‘HK Groovy.’ We produced only 200 pairs, which were all sold out. We are currently planning to produce more.

Making meaningful products that protect the environment

Tread & Groove has a clear goal: creating more opportunities for consumers to get involved in eco-friendly activities as they wear their shoes.
“Nowadays more and more people think of the environment and society when they consume products. ESG is practiced widely across society, and a growing number of consumers are aware of sustainable consumption. I believe these small acts of consumers add up to change the way corporations behave and eventually change society. I hope more people become interested in ethical consumption and think of making a sustainable future.” he said.
Lee On is busy working on launching a new shoe model in the second half of the year. He has been making shoes that can appeal to the general public. Now, he wants to enhance the company profile by launching new shoes featuring the unique identity of Tread & Groove. “Actually, a lot of shoes we have developed haven’t even reached the sales shelf. We put so much time and energy into designing and developing the shoes, but they didn’t make it to the market due to timing issues or market circumstances. We’re going to roll out more products down the road, and I hope more consumers find how special they are.” he said.
Hoping that Tread & Groove is viewed as a shoe maker that creates products that are meaningful to consumers, Lee believes his shoes help protect the environment as they will use more waste tires.

※ The interview was conducted in accordance with COVID-19 safety rules.

Tread & Groove

Phone 070-7799-8520

Website www.treadngroove.com