CLEAN CLIMBER Research
We’re doing research to become more and more sustainable as a sport. Here are the finished and ongoing research projects.
From worn climbing shoes to a new gym floor - 2020-2021
The goal of the Circular Chain Project (in Dutch: Circulaire Ketenproject, a subsidy traject from the RVO – Rijksdienst voor Ondernemend Nederland) was to make rock climbing shoes more sustainable through recycling and repairing. The project ran from 2020-2021 and was successful, as it resulted in ongoing climbing shoe repair as well as recycling climbing shoe rubber into fitness floors.
Increasing resoling in the Netherlands - 2022-2023
The goal of this Citylab010 project was to make climbing shoes more circular, whilst at the same time increasing work done in the city of Rotterdam. We did this by educating 4 cobblers to become certified climbing shoes cobblers and have a good income from repairing climbing shoes. The project ran from 2022-2023 and was successful, as the cobblers have a substantial income and climbing shoes in the Netherlands are more resoled than before.
How to increase the circularity of climbing walls - 2022-2023
The goal of this Circulaire Initiatieven project was to research the feasibility of making climbing walls more circular. The project was supported by the municipality of Rotterdam. The paper research showed ways to design climbing walls that are repairable and moveable, hopefully to inspire circular builders of climbing walls.
At the moment, the Clean Climber Foundation is in a group of companies researching the possibilities of the possibilities of upcycling climbing shoe rubber into new climbing shoe rubber. Subscribe to our newsletter to get updates from this process!