Circular children's shoes | NEUNOI

Context

Children grow quickly, and shoes often need to be replaced after a short time. At the same time, most trainers are not repairable and are made of composite materials that are difficult to separate. This leads to considerable waste of resources, litter and microplastic pollution. Acceptance of used or repaired products is particularly low in the children's market.

NEUNOI is pursuing a radically new approach: modular trainers that can be used, repaired, passed on and returned multiple times. For this circular model to work in everyday life, key questions need to be answered: How can repair and return processes be designed to be sustainable? How can trust and acceptance be built among parents and children, and how can hygiene be ensured? And how can returns be used to gain insights into foot health and prevention?

Approach

The SCDH is supporting NEUNOI in the development of an integrated service and circular model. This is based on a participatory process in which key elements of the after-sales system are developed and tested together with parents, families and experts.

Workshops and focus groups are used to examine needs, inhibitions and expectations relating to returns, repairs and reuse. Qualitative interviews and existing test data are also incorporated. Service design tools such as personas, user journeys and service design blueprints systematically structure return and repair paths and translate them into a scalable model.

Benefits

• The process creates a robust basis for the launch and further development of an economically viable return and repair system.
• The result is a practical and accepted circular model.
• The project strengthens the long-term usability of children's shoes, reduces waste and supports a culture of repair in everyday life.
• In the long term, the project contributes to the establishment of circular consumption models and exemplifies how design, service innovation and health promotion can work together in a new market segment.