Don't Throw Your Shoeboxes Away, They Have Soles TOO!: An Object Lesson in 6 Parts -Heaven Jackson

1.The purchase

A couple of weeks ago when cleaning my room, I stumbled across some formal heels shoved under my bed. I noticed the sides of them being smushed and a few spots of discoloration. When looking for the box they belonged to so that I could prevent any further damage (I usually keep my shoes in boxes, so this was odd to me), it dawned on me how insignificant shoeboxes become for some people once the shoes are taken out of the box, especially being that they are one of the most helpful products in terms of storage and preservation. We see shoeboxes, strictly for the product inside of them, not because of what they are, or what they have the possibility to be. Not only that, but they are important to a very essential accessory of our personality: our shoes. We will get into that later.

So, let us start from the beginning. You go to a store and browse around for a bit. You did not come with anything particular in mind, so you wait until something catches your eye. You see a pair of shoes that you like. A couple of pairs actually. You ask a representative to get you two sizes. Depending on the brand, you could be a 6 or a 6 ½. You try on both. For this particular brand, you like the way the 6 fits. You follow the sales rep to the register where you see them place the shoe you tried on back into the box. They check the other shoe to make sure it is the correct size. The box and the receipt find their way into a bag. You pay and walk out of the store happy about your new purchase.

This is just your point of view though. For the rep, when they go into the back of the store, they don’t only see the shoes on a clear display case. They see the boxes, the things that have been protecting their career, their craft, their organization, and your potential shoes. They look at the labels with all the necessary information and pick up the box that you’ll hopefully take care of. You don’t take into consideration how long the shoes you are buying have been sitting in the store. You don’t realize that they are only still white, still scuff-free, still scratch-free, and still looking like new, because the box was there to protect them for you. If the boxes weren’t so important, they wouldn’t have been apart of this process after so many years.

Once you return home, you take the shoes out of the bag and box. You are hanging out with friends later and want to show off your new kicks. You throw the bag in the cabinet you hold your plastic trash bags in and throw the receipt away. Understandable. The box joins the receipt in the trash, maybe even the recycling bin. Understandable? Not so much. 

2.Toys

Early on, we are primed to look at shoeboxes in a new light especially when it comes to creating dioramas for school science projects. But, we will get into that a little later. For now, let us talk about boredom. We have all been here before, at least I have. When I was a kid, I remember sitting around bored. Tired of the dolls, blocks, puzzles. There were only so many things you could make with Lego sets. Only so many meals you can prepare in the fake kitchen. But, did you know that there are MANY different ways to upcycle and create things from shoe boxes? Not only does this allow you to have an outlet to be creative with the boxes, but it also provides you with something to play within the end.

According to bright star kids, a famous blog post for everything creative and educational for kids, there are at least seventeen cool things that you can create with just a shoebox and a few things that I am pretty sure you have lying around at home. Shoebox towns, fake classrooms, marble mazes, and even foosball tables are just a few of the possibilities. Not only does this give kids new, innovative ways to have fun, it also saves money leaving it for bills and other necessities. With a shoebox and a couple of markers, you can draw out any room or space that you want. Children can build all types of environments or jobs for their dolls and other toys, giving these toys a longer run before they are thrown out and grown out of. With just scissors and string, you can create cute DIY shelves for kids to play with their toys on. With skewers and pegs, you can create so many different games that any age would enjoy. The point here is that there are so many fun ways to use the boxes before simply tossing them once you wear the shoes they’ve inhabited. According to Statista, a website focused on finding the average spending per country on consumer goods, “In North America, the average amount spent on toys per child was 306 U.S. dollars in 2018. The global toy market had an estimated size of more than 90 billion U.S. dollars in 2018”. What could be done with an extra 90 billion? That’s another story.

3.The History

For a long time, until; about the mid-1800s, cobblers handmade shoes. Because of the customization of shoes and lack of bulk orders, there was no actual reason or need to store them. After a while, this changed. Once the sewing machine and other technology that could be used to produce shoes more quickly came around, cheap cardboard boxes came in to perform the simple task of ‘shoe storage’. When it came to feet, these carton shoe boxes quickly became the face of the industrial revolution. People even bought empty shoeboxes to try to preserve the shoes they already had made and customized at home. In different parts of the world, it became common to see signs that read “CARDBOARD SHOEBOXES FOR SALE”.

Shoes and their boxes quickly became the identity of society, holding a “powerful narrative of economy and fashion”. They entered into the lives of women who wanted their lavish heels to last longer and men who wanted to keep their work boots scuff free. This was just the basic design though. These boxes were lacking any symbols of “fashion”. They were plain brown with nothing other than the shoe size on the side. As you know, this has greatly changed and now shoeboxes are stamped with the brands' label all over them. They now include size charts for different countries, the shoe style, color, and retail price. Whatever the case, this little sticker of information on the boxes makes shoes easier for recognition and the boxes themselves make the shoes capable of preservation until they are sold. Boxes also allow (and also allowed in the past) for the shoes to be cleaned and easily organized and stored within the shop.

Due to the benefits of being clean rectangular boxes with plain designs, the boxes satisfied the storage and shipment requirements for almost every standard shop. The wholesale market for these basic cardboard boxes began to boom even further getting us to where we are today. A quick google search will lead you to hundreds of websites selling the very same shoeboxes we take for granted. Depending on the brand of shoe, box modifications continue to happen. They are now made of plastic, fabric, and fiberboard. Until about the ’90s, shoe boxes were simply just “top open boxes” and contained a box and lid. Eventually, as more convenient methods became available, drop front shoe boxes became more popular and joined the shelves making it easier to access and identify shoes without the before hassle of dismantling the structures of storage in the stores.

4.Sustainability

            As stated before, shoe boxes seem to lose value once the shoes are taken out and worn. We look at the boxes and see them strictly for what they hold, not for what they have the possibility of holding or turning into which is a big problem. Shoe boxes are the same shape and size of many of the storage containers we buy to store things in. These containers range from about $3- $10. Why not kill two birds with one stone, or I guess, get two things with one purchase, and use these boxes as your new storage facilities? Why not save a little extra money? It may seem ridiculous to keep every single box in the closet, that’s because it is in some cases, (the boxes take up space), but why not place them around the house to store those keys that don’t go to any doors that you just like to keep around, the screws and tools you have in the kitchen drawer. What about using them to hold and organize your makeup or those old phone cases that don’t even fit your new phone? This entire situation overlaps with eco-criticism because we dispose of these boxes constantly despite knowing we'll need them.

            Not only that, but almost every single one of us has been in the situation of needing to create some sort of project in elementary school.  Early on, we are shown that shoeboxes are essential in early education. I have been responsible for making many shoebox dioramas and vividly remember searching around for boxes before going up to my mother at 9pm introducing the project to her. Each time, she would get up and join me in the search for a box laying around. All of which have been already trashed, causing us to have to go to a store and search for a box that resembles the ones used to hold shoes. The ideas here are limitless. I remember making science ecosystems, dinosaur dioramas, and even underwater worlds. Turning the boxes different directions makes room for even more possibilities. I have a little brother, and it has gotten to the point where some elementary schools have added shoebox dioramas into their curriculum with specific instructions on how and what to do with the shoebox. They are pushing towards sustainability over spending money on a plastic bin that after gluing and taping ecosystems to, becomes single-use bins.

             “Sustainability is important for a very simple, very straightforward reason: we cannot maintain our quality of life as human beings, the diversity of life on Earth, or Earth’s ecosystems unless we embrace it” (permaculture news). We cannot fully help the environment, or fully stretch resources to their full potential until we begin using the things that have multiple uses over and over again. These small boxes of potential are one of those things that can be constantly used. The environment is very important to every single one of us. Earth is the only home that we have, and it provides us with food, water, air, and any other things we need to survive. Why not take this small step to pay the earth for all it has done for us?

5.Storage

            This was touched on a little earlier, but one of the biggest and most common uses for shoeboxes other than simply storing shoes is using them as storage places. This category of things to store is limitless. Some of the most common uses of storage with these boxes are in the classroom though. In early elementary school, for holidays and holiday parties, many teachers ask for students to bring in shoeboxes. In class, they decorate and redesign different purposes for the boxes. One common one is to use the boxes as a way to collect your candy during the Halloween parties, or even your valentines during the valentine’s day party. I have even seen teachers decorate the boxes in different colors and use them as a way to organize and distinguish homework from classwork, or organize school supplies throughout the classroom. Or even use them on the desks as a place to store and organize materials for each table of students to share.

            According to the Washington Post, “hoarding” is a serious disease. For some reason, we as humans do not like the thought of getting rid of things. There is always a “what if” hanging in the back of our minds. “What if I need this assignment from my first day of high school?” “What if I have to go back to my old locker and need this key again?” “I don’t know what this charger goes to, but what if I buy a new device that uses it?” “I don’t know where this screw goes, but what if I need it?” Instead of constantly throwing and shoving things into the random drawers throughout our houses that hold all of our miscellaneous products, let’s use a quick shoebox to do the job. Whether we ever need the item or not, we will always at least know where it is this way.

6.Shoes Themselves. Protect them.

            I would say that I saved the most basic section for last: Shoes. The sole reason shoeboxes were created was to promote the preservation of shoes until they were sold, yet, this process extends further than just that. A pair of shoes left in a box lasts longer and is less likely to become damaged than those without. Those without boxes are prone to becoming disfigured, discolored, covered in dust, or even misplaced. The tough structure of the lightweight box prevents things stacked on them from touching and ruining the shoes in any way. As soon as our closets become full, we begin stacking shoes on top of each other sparing the pairs we don’t care about as much by placing them on the bottom. Why not save every pair? Shoes are made of tough materials, so after having things piled on top of them for so long, it's very hard to get them to return to the same condition. Pull out those old party kicks with ease! Shoes, though similar to clothing, are nothing like them. Clothes, once stained, have dry cleaners to be taken to. Once they are crushed and wrinkled, a quick iron or hang can save the day. The lightweight material makes preservation easier and therefore, in most cases, prevents the need for a box, unlike shoes.

            Let’s face it, shoes make up an important part of who we are. They show our personality, our style, our emotions (depending on how we pair them with certain outfits), why not do everything we can to protect them. To protect what they do and show for us. Outside of being the way we carry our “new shoes”, these boxes have worked endless hours to protect our shoes before we even came into the picture. Let’s continue to let them do their job. Let’s let them do other jobs and other things that can easily be incorporated into our lives. Let’s help preserve the world a little longer. Protect your shoes, they have soles too!

Works Cited

“17 Shoebox Craft Ideas.” Bright Star Kids, www.brightstarkids.com.au/blog/creating/shoebox-crafts/.

Footalk. “Shoe Boxes: Where Did They Come from?” Shoe Boxes: Where Did They Come from?, 14 Nov. 2019, foottalk.blogspot.com/2010/11/shoe-boxes-where-did-they-come-from.html.

H., Megan. “Why Is Sustainability Important?” The Permaculture Research Institute, 25 Oct. 2017, www.permaculturenews.org/2016/01/07/why-is-sustainability-important/.

Morgan, Stuart. “The History of the Humble Shoe Box.” Satra Technology, 2018, www.satra.com/bulletin/article.php?id=2193.

O'Connell, Liam. “Spending per Child on Toys by Region Worldwide 2018.” Statista, 21 Nov. 2019, www.statista.com/statistics/194424/amount-spent-on-toys-per-child-by-country-since-2009/.