24 billion pairs made a year.
Almost none get recovered.
We collect post-consumer footwear, separate it into clean material streams, and return it to industry — closing the loop.
We build the recovery chain footwear is missing
A single shoe combines various materials: rubber, foam, textile, and plastic bonded together — impossible to recycle through ordinary single-stream systems. We separate it, and route each material back into use.
Collect
We aggregate post-consumer footwear from brand take-back, retail, and municipal waste streams.
Recover
We separate the bonded shoe into clean, single-material fractions — then clean, shred, and grade them to spec.
Return
We sell graded feedstock back into manufacturing under recurring supply agreements.
Building the missing layer of the footwear supply chain
Footwear poses a huge, overlooked waste challenge. The staggering volumes produced each year — 24 billion pairs, out of which less than 5% are recycled — point to a looming problem hiding in plain sight.
We approach it from a design perspective: closing the loop from where the most research and technology already exists to the end of the waste stream, where almost none does. We believe this underresearched problem space is where the future will be decided.
True shoe-to-shoe circularity is only possible through perseverance, creativity, and innovation. Kicks CTRL is currently part of Cohort 6 of the Carbon13 Berlin venture builder programme.
Infrastructure first
We build physical capacity, not campaigns. Throughput is the product.
Material purity
Output is graded to spec, so it competes with virgin feedstock — not just diverts it.
Auditable chain
Every tonne is tracked from intake to offtake for compliance-grade reporting.
Modular scale
Facilities replicate as standardized units, so capacity grows predictably.
The people closing the loop
Let's build the recovery layer
Capital, supply, or material demand — tell us where you fit. We reply to qualified inquiries within five business days.