Over the past month, our shoe covers project in partnership with Stephanie Small from UniSA has progressed to the prototype testing stage.
The main aim of this phase was assessing the functionality and durability of a range of compostable materials for use as a hard sole, including sugar cane and corn starch. We looked at the relative wear and tear on different surfaces, flexibility of the materials and sole size, in particular.
The testing phase also looked at the functionality of various styles of fasteners and their positioning to help shape the cover around the shoe and to keep it up around the calf.
In addition, field observations were undertaken of the relative ease of putting on shoe covers of different designs.
We thank the three industry members who donated their time to testing and providing feedback over multiple sessions.
The prototypes will now be refined, based on learnings from this testing phase.