ReBound and ESO RECYCLING Partner to Achieve Circular Footwear Recycling

ReBound Returns has announced a new partnership with ESO RECYCLING to expand its suite of circular solutions for retailers and support Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) compliance.

Through this collaboration, retailers using ReBound's omnichannel returns management solution will be able to utilize ESO RECYCLING's services to transform unsellable footwear into new materials. ReBound processes over 100 million return transactions annually for leading global brands, combining smart technology with logistics capabilities to help retailers manage and monitor the entire returns lifecycle. ESO RECYCLING specializes in material recovery and reuse, committed to transforming waste into resources. The company collects and recycles materials from the sports, fashion, and PPE industries, preventing them from entering landfills and giving them a second life.

This partnership enables ReBound to include unsellable footwear in its extensive recyclable items catalog. For example, when unsellable sneakers are returned, ESO RECYCLING transforms them into materials for socially beneficial projects such as shock-absorbent playground surfaces or athletic tracks. The streamlined operational process between ReBound and ESO RECYCLING provides retailers with reliable footwear recycling services through trusted returns and recycling partners.

This service covers the entire European region, leveraging ReBound's extensive network to deliver operational efficiency benefits to clients. Additionally, by repurposing footwear and avoiding the production of virgin materials, this initiative helps reduce CO₂ emissions.

ESO RECYCLING's expertise also supports textile EPR compliance by converting waste into reusable materials, enhancing circularity in reverse logistics. This improves waste traceability, providing better understanding of product lifecycles that would otherwise end in landfills, enabling retailers to make more informed decisions to reduce environmental impact. The partnership highlights both companies' sustainability commitments and demonstrates how collaboration can drive the transition to a circular economy.

Nicolas Meletiou, Founder and Managing Director of ESO RECYCLING, stated: "We believe no material should go to waste. Our partnership with ReBound is a significant step toward realizing this vision in the footwear industry. Through our scientifically validated processes and proprietary technologies developed with universities and research partners, we transform unsellable returns into high-value secondary materials, giving them new life in sustainable applications ranging from sports fields to urban development projects. Since 2009, through our esosport brand, we've demonstrated that sports waste can be effectively recycled. Now, by joining forces with ReBound, we're scaling this proven approach to help retailers achieve sustainable closed loops, delivering tangible business benefits while creating positive impacts for communities and the environment."

Jelle Schoenmaker, Managing Director of ReBound, added: "At ReBound, we're committed to driving efficiency improvements, waste reduction, and sustainability in returns management through innovation. Our partnership with ESO RECYCLING is an exciting step forward, and we look forward to working together to close the loop on returns and recycling. By ensuring even unsellable and non-reusable products get a second life, we're providing more sustainable solutions for retail and supporting a truly circular economy."

The collaboration between ReBound and ESO RECYCLING demonstrates the perfect synergy between returns management and sustainable recycling, offering a practical pathway for implementing circular economy principles in retail. As the fashion and sporting goods industries face massive waste volumes and increasingly stringent EPR regulations, this "returns-to-recycling" solution not only helps brands reduce environmental burdens but also gives unsellable footwear a genuine second life, advancing true closed-loop material management.

By applying recycled materials to social projects like children's playgrounds and sports facilities, the partnership further extends the social value of environmental achievements. With this service expanding across Europe, ReBound, and ESO RECYCLING are setting new industry standards for future sustainable supply chains.