1,000,000 plastic bottles are purchased globally every minute, and more than 6,000,000 tons of coffee waste are sent to the landfill annually. Concerned with the environmental impacts of plastic and food waste, including its greenhouse gas emissions, Rens would like to revolutionise the sneaker industry by introducing NOMAD: a sneaker made from post-industrial plastic and used coffee grounds. From there, Rens has recycled more than 250,000 plastic bottles, and more than 750,000 cups worth of coffee. The introduction of Nomad showcases how one can unlock the full potential of materials in ways that go beyond their initial purposes by looking at materials from new angles.

According to a research performed by Euromonitor, 1 million plastic bottles are sold every minute globally today, and the number of bottles sold annually is approximated to be 583.3 billion, a drastic increase from 480 billion back in 2016. Meanwhile, 6,000,000 tons of coffee waste are sent to the landfill every year. This provides a perfect breeding ground for methane, which is 28 times more potent as a greenhouse gas than CO2, and is equivalent to the emissions of 10 million cars.

Concerned with the environmental impacts of the global sneaker industry and it being the top polluting industries globally throughout the decades, Rens is introduced to bring sustainable yet stylish alternatives to the sneakers industry. Its product, named NOMAD, is the first sneaker in the world made from recycled plastic and coffee ground waste. According to Rens, the used coffee grounds are processed and mixed with recycled plastic pellets to create a polymer thread. With that, each pair of NOMAD is made from 6 recycled plastic bottles and 150 grams of coffee waste. This also means that each pair is diverting 21 cups worth of coffee grounds from the landfills.

According to Rens, with the introduction of NOMAD, more than 250,000 plastic bottles and over 750,000 cups worth of coffee are recycled. In addition, by using recycled plastic, it also lower its CO2 emissions generated from the upper's construction by 79% when compared to conventional virgin polymers. Its outsole, made from natural rubber, also accounts for a significantly lower environmental impacts in comparison to its synthetic, petrochemical counterpart. Meanwhile, NOMAD was also designed with an emphasis on durability by capitalising on the inherent durability of recycled PET.

According to Rens,

- It is also committed to operating under completely climate-neutral production through teaming up with ClimatePartner to offset its climate emissions along its whole production and consumption chain.

- Its manufacturing partner also conducts various periodic audits (such as SMETA) to ensure they meet labor, health, and safety standards. This helps to ensure all of its workers are fairly compensated, work under safe environments, and that no forced labor is involved throughout its production chain.