Coddies Fish Flops Reuse

Coddies Fish Flops have taken the world by storm over the last year as footwear that’s a fish out of water is comparison to anything else on the market! Fish Flops comfort and style has taken them all over. They’ve even been seen on the soles of many finfluencers including Holly Willoughby, Diplo, Dua Lipa and Lad Baby. Although our footwear is tough and hardwearing, it’s important to consider where they go once their footwear days are over. The obvious answer would be the waste but there are so many other options.

 Donate Coddies

Coddies advocate the Soles 4 Souls Program who have developed a way of recycling shoes and turning them into new shoes for children in developing countries. You can donate your lightly-worn shoes to the program and they will clean them up and send them to impoverished areas around the world. Another option is to donate gently used Coddies which are still in wearable condition to local charity shops. They will happily accept items that are in a reasonable condition and in many cities they will even come to pickup your donated items. Through donating to good causes such as these you keep unnecessary materials out of our already overflowing landfills while doing something good for someone in need.

 Reuse Coddies

Even if you don’t donate your Coddies there are many ways to give them a new purpose, particularly with their resistance to weather, mold and mildew. The iconic styles and colours can breathe life into many parts of your house and garden. Consider some of the following creative yet practical ways to put your Coddies to work:

  • If you have a deer problem, Coddies can be used as a deterrent by tying twine around them and hanging them around the garden.
  • Coddies can be used to mark rows in the garden, labelling the shoes with permanent marker and hanging from posts in the garden can add excitement to any outdoor space.
  • Turn a used pair of Coddies into a fun craft project, kids will enjoy bringing the fish even more to life by adding craft supplies. Alternatively, you can try stringing several Coddies of different sizes and colours together with recycled items to make an interesting mobile.
  • Coddies can also make practical containers through hanging them on walls inside and outside. This is what we do…

 Coddies Codariums

Due to our strict quality controls, we end up with Coddies that can’t be sold but we have yet to throw any pairs away. Our favourite thing to do is to make festive planters which we call Codariums where Coddies are attached to panels to form vertical gardens. Not only does it brighten up any part of the garden but minimises the space required.

Here’s what you need to create your own Codarium:

  • Coddies
  • Screw, nails or tie for each shoe
  • Plants to put in each shoe – we like succulents!
  • Plant pots for each shoe (optional)

Here’s how we did it!

Step 1:

Get together all your old Coddies and decide which surface they would look good on. This could really be anything, a trellis, fence, tree, wall, as long as it’s vertical then it should be good! In this case we used part of an old bench.

Coddies Fish Flops recycling and reusing to make features for your garden

 

Step 2:

Arrange your shoes on the vertical surface with the tails up and decide in what works well for you. Once you’ve decided on the arrangement then it’s time to attach the Coddies, one screw through the tail worked well for us but you could also use nails or ties to attach them.

Coddies Fish Flops recycling and reusing to make features for your gardenCoddies Fish Flops recycling and reusing to make features for your garden

Step 3:

It’s now time to plant up the shoes! You can either put your plants directly into the Coddies and the plant roots will bind the soil to prevent it falling out or put them inside a plant pot which is inserted into the shoes. We find plant pots with a diameter of around 7 cm work well. If you are using plants like succulents then it’s good to separate them out and plant them individually into the shoes. Plant up all the shoes and play around with the planting arrangement until you are happy.

Coddies Fish Flops recycling and reusing to make features for your gardenCoddies Fish Flops recycling and reusing to make features for your garden

Step 4:

Step back and take in the masterpiece you have just created. Codariums require little maintenance, just ensure the plants are kept watered.

Coddies Fish Flops recycling and reusing to make features for your gardenCoddies Fish Flops recycling and reusing to make features for your garden

Think Green

Next time you look to throw something away that no longer has value to you, consider the many ways you can reduce your carbon footprint by recycling. Not only are Coddies useful footwear but their life can easily be extended, adding more to their value.

 We would love to hear how you reuse & recycle your Coddies, get in touch at info@coddies.com or @Coddies on Instagram.