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Teva is working on a new sandal recycling initiative to divert products from landfill

Teva, A division of Deckers brandsannounces TevaForever, a partnership with the international recycling market leader TerraCycleto give a new life to worn Teva sandals. The recycling program reaffirms Teva’s commitment to reducing our environmental footprint and keeping waste out of landfills.

Worn Teva sandals have a soul of their own, shaped by every wild adventure they have endured. When they’re ready to retire, there’s never been a great place to be.

As part of the TevaForever recycling program, popular Teva sandals can be mailed to customers free of charge at TerraCycle and diverted from landfill so they can be recycled into something new. The brand’s long-term vision is to work towards solutions to one day close the loop by recycling old Teva sandals into new ones.

“The partnership with TerraCycle is a big step forward in our ongoing commitment to minimize our brand’s environmental impact. The TevaForever Recycling Program is an easy way for our fans to join in as we know we will breathe new life into their sandals, ”said Anders Bergstrom, Vice President and General Manager of Teva. “We can’t do this without our fans and I’m thrilled with the impact we’ll make together.”

Participation in the program is easy. Customers can visit Teva.com to sign up and download a prepaid shipping label to ship their sandals to TerraCycle. The recycling manager cleans the sandals and separates the materials in preparation for processing. The processed material is used by manufacturers to create a range of new products, including playgrounds, sports fields and track floors.

“Teva sandal owners can now rest assured that when their favorite sandals are finally worn out, they will no longer feel guilty about throwing them away,” said Tom Szaky, CEO and founder of TerraCycle. “The TevaForever recycling program gives consumers the opportunity to recycle their popular sandals while protecting the environment for future generations.”

The partnership with TerraCycle is Teva’s latest commitment, which is constantly evolving to reduce its environmental footprint. In addition to the brand’s 2020 sustainability initiative, in which Teva converted 100% of its iconic tapes made with REPREVE yarn to recycled plastic, the brand has achieved the following:

As of 2020, the brand has diverted over 40.2 million plastic bottles, equivalent to 755 tons of post-consumer plastic or 1,510,000 pounds of plastic, from landfill sites. Teva has reduced overall water usage and has worked with its supply chain partners to improve water conservation efforts.

Since 2017, thanks to its packaging improvements, Teva has saved 348 million gallons of water and reduced the total weight of packaging used by 4.1 million pounds.
All of the brand’s leather comes from tanneries that have been certified by the Leather Working Group. whose mission is to promote sustainable and appropriate environmental business practices in the leather industry. Teva also supports the Better Cotton Initiative, the world’s largest cotton sustainability program.

As of 2020, the brand has also reduced approximately 6.6 million pounds of greenhouse gas emissions (equivalent to carbon dioxide), 2.3 billion liters of water (or 622 million gallons of water) and 56 million MJ of energy (or the equivalent of 437,740 gallons of gasoline).

For over 35 years, Teva sandals have given people around the world more freedom to experience life’s great adventures. In this next chapter, the brand is committed to improving its sustainable business practices so that future generations have the same opportunity to explore our planet for years to come.