Algotoffel

In Germany, people buy an average of four pairs of new shoes per year. Shoes that are worn or sit unused in the closet. Shoes that are eventually thrown away or lost. Shoes that either end up as trash in nature, polluting the habitats of numerous animals, or are incinerated. The Algotoffel, too, is not a product built to last forever, nor is it a shoe that is passed down from generation to generation. But it remains part of a natural cycle. Its life begins as a house slipper. In the summer, it also accompanies its owners into the garden. Once it has served its purpose, it returns to nature at the end of its life. The Algotoffel is made exclusively from locally harvested spiral algae. After use, it can serve as fertilizer for plants, decompose on the compost pile, or return to the water.

To manufacture the Algotoffel, we utilized the felt-like structure of the spiral algae and developed two different materials from it. Pressing the algae into a mold creates a firm and durable material for the sole. The upper material is formed by placing the algae over a mold and then drying them. Even without additional pressure or heat, the spiral algae bond together due to their natural structure to form a cohesive, textile-like surface. One challenge in the manufacturing process was that the algae dry very slowly. Since we had to continue working with the upper material while it was still damp, the material warped during sewing. To improve the shoe’s tear resistance and elasticity, the algae were soaked in glycerin and alginate before processing. The alginate increases the material’s stability and dimensional stability, while glycerin makes the shoe more flexible and less brittle.