Iceland offers to upcycle lockdown sweatpants into hiking boots

Iceland offers to upcycle lockdown sweatpants into hiking boots for free to help travellers ’embrace adventure beyond the couch’

  • The transformation will be carried out at a pop-up in downtown Reykjavik 
  • The boots will be ‘sustainably made with guilt-free vegan materials’
  • Icelandic rapper Cell7 has recorded a music video to publicise the service

To encourage travellers to let the stress of the lockdowns go and embrace adventure beyond the couch, Iceland is offering to upcycle pandemic sweatpants into hiking boots.

The transformation will be carried out at a pop-up on Rainbow Street in downtown Reykjavik throughout July, where tired sweatpants will be re-engineered into one-of-a-kind Sweatpant Boots – for free.

The offer is bookable through sweatpantboots.com and is open to anyone with a valid plane ticket showing their arrival in green-listed Iceland from June 24 onwards.

To encourage travellers to let the stress of the lockdowns go and embrace adventure beyond the couch, Iceland is offering to upcycle pandemic sweatpants into hiking boots

The website says: ‘They got you through endless days filled with video calls, and countless nights of binge-watching and takeout. Now Iceland will take your trusty pandemic sweatpants and upcycle them into custom hiking boots suitable for your first big adventure beyond your couch.’

The boots are being made in partnership with Will’s Vegan, a sustainable and environmentally friendly boot brand, with the design and creation carried out by Icelandic designer and founder of Another Creation, Yr Thrastardottir.

The website explains that the boots will be ‘sustainably made with guilt-free vegan materials… as friendly to Earth as they are to your feet’.

But it adds, in light of Iceland’s volcanic landscape: ‘Sweatpant boots will not protect you from molten lava. Nothing will. Please adventure safely.’

To celebrate the launch of Sweatpant Boots, Icelandic rapper Cell7 and former song producer for band Stop Wait Go, Asgeir Orri Asgeirsson, have recorded an exclusive new song – The Sweatpant Boot Song – with a supporting film, which you can watch here and above. 

To celebrate the launch of Sweatpant Boots, Icelandic rapper Cell7 has recorded an exclusive new song - The Sweatpant Boot Song

To celebrate the launch of Sweatpant Boots, Icelandic rapper Cell7 has recorded an exclusive new song – The Sweatpant Boot Song

Zoe Aston, psychotherapist and mental health specialist, said: ‘Over the past 18 months, being locked down has had a significant effect on our mental health. Most of us found solace in our lockdown sweatpants which have become an emblem of the rut we have been stuck in.

‘Now, as things change again, we can all benefit from upcycling our sweatpants into something new, to represent what you have learned rather than simply leaving the experience behind.

‘As a result of the trauma we have all experienced, we now also have stress stored in our bodies, so the best way to complete the stress cycle is to experience exhilaration and excitement. Iceland is offering you just that: the opportunity to let go of the stress, the trauma and the lockdowns by experiencing adventure, and move forward in a new pair of shoes symbolic of all you have learned during the pandemic.’

Sweatpantboots.com says: 'They got you through endless days filled with video calls, and countless nights of binge-watching and takeout. Now Iceland will take your trusty pandemic sweatpants and upcycle them into custom hiking boots suitable for your first big adventure beyond your couch'

Sweatpantboots.com says: ‘They got you through endless days filled with video calls, and countless nights of binge-watching and takeout. Now Iceland will take your trusty pandemic sweatpants and upcycle them into custom hiking boots suitable for your first big adventure beyond your couch’

Gudni Th. Johannesson, President of Iceland, commented: ‘We all hope that the end of the pandemic is in sight and that we can soon resume our normal lives after a year of various restrictions in society. And we can travel again. It is a pleasure to be able to welcome guests again to our beautiful country.’

Sigridur Dogg Gudmundsdottir, Head of Visit Iceland, said: ‘For those ready to travel again, we want to make sure you’re prepared to experience life to its fullest and take on whatever adventure you’ve been craving. And some lucky visitors will get to do it with their own unique Sweatpant Boots.’

Can’t visit Iceland? You can try on a virtual pair of sweatpant boots at sweatpantboots.lookslikeyouneediceland.com. 

Read more at DailyMail.co.uk