用塑料袋制成的运动鞋售价100美元 | 全球废弃物 | 商业内幕：英语精读讲义

These sneakers are made with garbage.

这些运动鞋是用垃圾制成的。

The company that makes them says each pair contains 10 plastic bags

制造这些鞋的公司称，每双鞋含有10个塑料袋

and 12 bottles.

和12个塑料瓶。

For $110,

花110美元，

they'll ship them anywhere in the world.

他们就会把鞋寄到世界任何地方。

But can footwear made from trash 表達脈絡

但用垃圾制成的鞋

compete in the over $70 billion sneaker industry?

能在规模超过700亿美元的运动鞋行业中竞争吗？

We went to India to meet the young entrepreneur making sneakers from worldwide waste. 語法

我们前往印度，拜访这位用世界各地的废弃物制作运动鞋的年轻创业者。

23-year-old Ashay Bhave launched Thaely in July 2021. 用詞

23岁的Ashay Bhave于2021年7月创立了Thaely。

Thaely because it is the Hindi word for plastic bags. 文化背景

之所以叫Thaely，是因为这个词在印地语中意为“塑料袋”。

At first, Bhave struggled to gather materials, 短語搭配

起初，Bhave很难收集到原材料，

even though trash in India ends up in all kinds of places. 講解

尽管印度各个角落都能见到垃圾。

I assumed that it would be easy to find you know, waste plastic bags,

我原以为废弃塑料袋应该很容易找到，你知道的，

but that wasn't the case. 短語搭配

但事实并非如此。

So Bhave partnered with a waste removal company 短語搭配

于是，Bhave与一家垃圾清运公司合作，

that hires rag pickers. 文化背景

这家公司雇用拾荒者。

Those are people who collect recyclables

他们就是收集可回收物的人，

from the street to sell for cash.

从街头捡来，再卖掉换钱。

Triotap Technologies offers them a steady paycheck 語法

Triotap Technologies为他们提供稳定的薪水

and an indoor sorting space.

以及室内分拣场地。

They clean the bags in a hot tub filled only with water

他们把塑料袋放进装满热水的池子里清洗，

without any added chemicals.

不添加任何化学品。

And then hang them out to dry. 短語動詞

然后把它们挂起来晾干。

Inside the warehouse,

在仓库内，

Sairuddin stacks eight to 10 layers of bags at a time.

Sairuddin每次将8到10层塑料袋叠在一起。

Then places the pile under a heat press.

然后把这摞塑料袋放到热压机下。

This finished product will cover most of the sneaker.

这种成品材料会覆盖运动鞋的大部分区域。

The company's founder calls it ThaelyTex 語法

公司创始人称它为ThaelyTex。

So it's a material that's made entirely out of waste plastic bags 短語搭配

这是一种完全由废弃塑料袋制成的材料，

without the use of any chemicals. 短語搭配

全程不使用任何化学品。

Sairuddin packs and ships them seven hours north

Sairuddin将这些片材打包，运往北边7小时车程外的

to the Nitush footwear factory.

Nitush鞋厂。

That's where the shoe will be assembled. 語法

鞋子将在那里组装。

First, ThaelyTex sheets are die cut using metal forms. 用詞

首先，使用金属模具对ThaelyTex片材进行模切。

Other patterns are cut from rPET fabric, 用詞

其他版片则从rPET面料上裁切，

which is made from recycled bottles

这种面料由回收塑料瓶制成，

and woven into something like canvas.

并被织成类似帆布的材质。

The workers stitch the two types of materials together.

工人们把这两种材料缝合在一起。

The assembled upper gets stretched out. 語法

组装好的鞋面会被拉伸定型。

Thaely's soles are made with crumbs of industrial rubber.

Thaely的鞋底由工业橡胶碎屑制成。

A worker needs to rough the sole on this grinder, 用詞

工人需要用这台打磨机把鞋底磨粗，

so the glue added in the next step will adhere. 語法

这样下一步涂上的胶水才能粘牢。

They coat the top of the sole with a clear glue. 短語搭配

他们在鞋底上表面涂上一层透明胶水。

A special UV light increases its stickiness.

特制紫外线灯会增强胶水的黏性。

The shoes go through a series of heat treatments 短語動詞

鞋子要经过一系列热处理

and coats to strengthen the bond between the sole and the upper.

和涂层工序，以加强鞋底与鞋面的粘合。

Then comes the final round of stitching. 語法

接下来是最后一轮缝制。

Thaely's laces are also made with recycled plastic.

Thaely的鞋带也由再生塑料制成。

This factory employs 170 people and makes shoes for three different companies.

这家工厂雇有170名员工，为三家不同的公司生产鞋子。

We wanted to make sure that we're still using existing sneaker manufacturing techniques. 短語搭配

我们希望确保自己仍在使用现有的运动鞋制造工艺。

You know, we didn't want to reinvent the wheel. 習語

你知道的，我们不想重复造轮子。

Nitush turns out 15,000 pairs of shoes every week, 短語動詞

Nitush每周生产1.5万双鞋，

and they try to recycle everything,

他们还尽量回收所有材料，

even scraps.

连边角料也不例外。

That's recycled and some of it is also reused to make more ThaelyTex sheets.

这些边角料会被回收，其中一部分还会被再次利用，制成更多ThaelyTex片材。

The tote bag used as packaging is made from four plastic bottles,

用作包装的手提袋由4个塑料瓶制成，

and the shoe box made from recycled paper has seeds in it.

再生纸鞋盒里则含有种子。

Customers can cut the box, plant it in soil,

顾客可以剪开鞋盒，把它埋进土里，

and grow a basil seedling in about two weeks.

大约两周后就能长出一株罗勒幼苗。

The company sold 300 pairs of sneakers in its first month

公司在开业首月卖出了300双运动鞋，

and says the shoes are built to last. 短語搭配

并称这些鞋经久耐穿。

It's extremely durable.

它非常耐用。

It lasts like any other sneaker for about two to three years,

和其他运动鞋一样，它能穿大约两到三年，

depending on how it is used. 語法

具体取决于使用方式。

But can a small company like this compete with worldwide brands?

但这样一家小公司能与全球品牌竞争吗？

Several have launched shoes from recycled plastic in recent years.

近年来，已有多个品牌推出了由再生塑料制成的鞋。

Nike launched the Space Hippie,

Nike推出了Space Hippie，

a shoe made with recycled materials in June 2020.

这款采用再生材料制成的鞋于2020年6月上市。

Adidas makes a shoe that incorporates ocean plastic.

Adidas生产了一款采用海洋塑料制成的鞋。

The company says it will produce 17 million pairs of them in 2021.

该公司称，2021年将生产1700万双这种鞋。

That means it's likely that a global brand like Adidas 表達脈絡

这意味着，像Adidas这样的全球品牌很可能

sold more recycled sneakers in an hour 語法

一小时内卖出的再生材料运动鞋，

than Thaely has sold since the company launched.

就比Thaely自创立以来卖出的总量还多。

But Bhave is undeterred.

但Bhave并未因此却步。

And he says the business is already profitable.

他还表示，这项业务已经实现盈利。

This is a project that is going to fund itself. 用詞

这个项目将能够自负盈亏。

And at the same time,

与此同时，

it's going to help enrich the lives of the sanitation workers

它还将帮助改善环卫工人的生活，

that we work with and you know,

也就是那些与我们合作的环卫工人，同时，你知道的，

the factory that we work with.

也会让与我们合作的工厂受益。

Bhave got the idea for Thaely when he was in business school.

Bhave在商学院读书时萌生了创办Thaely的想法。

We had a Shark Tank-like competition in my university, 文化背景

我们大学举办了一场类似《Shark Tank》的比赛，

and I had this opportunity to

我因此有机会

make my design project into a real business idea. 語法

把自己的设计项目变成一个真正的商业创意。

He says private investors funded the launch of his business.

他说，私人投资者为公司启动提供了资金。

The name of the Y2K Pro shoe is a reference to the early 2000s. 文化背景

Y2K Pro这款鞋的名称源自21世纪初。

He was inspired by basketball and skate shoes from that era,

他的灵感来自那个年代的篮球鞋和滑板鞋，

even though at that time he had a toddler-sized foot. 用詞

尽管当时他的脚还只有幼儿那么大。

It seems like Thaely is on to something with the idea of how to add value to discarded bags. 講解

看来，Thaely找到了通过废弃塑料袋创造附加价值的好办法。

Starting in September 2021,

从2021年9月起，

Indian authorities required all plastic bag makers to manufacture thicker bags. 語法

印度当局要求所有塑料袋制造商生产更厚的袋子。

The idea is that more durable bags are easier to recycle 語法

其理念是，更耐用的袋子更容易回收，

and that rag pickers will be more likely to collect them. 語法

拾荒者也会更愿意收集它们。

And once a customer is through with a Thaely sneaker, 短語動詞

当顾客不再穿Thaely运动鞋时，

Bhave says they can send it back to the company for a discount. 短語動詞

Bhave说，他们可以把鞋寄回公司，并获得折扣。

This allows us to responsibly recycle them. 語法

这样我们就能以负责任的方式回收这些鞋。

We refurbish them

我们会将它们翻新，

and we're donating them to charities and refugee camps.

再捐给慈善机构和难民营。