A Sandbach shoe entrepreneur is making footwear from recycled plastic bottles - in a bid to make sustainable footwear affordable.

Clearwaters Footwear was co-founded in July 2019 in Sandbach by Sean Evans, 30.

The innovator relocated to Singapore in 2013 and operates his Sandbach-based business from Asia.

A Cheshire-based intern also helps them with their digital marketing and social media.

One of the Sandbach shoe companies products. (Image - Clearwaters Footwear)

The minimalist comfort slipper is made from up to five recycled plastic bottles. The company has retrieved 50,000 plastic bottles from the sea, to be used in their sustainable slippers.

Clearwaters Footwear have attracted 689 backers on crowdfunding site Kickstarter, who pledged £27,365, across two campaigns.

Their eco-friendly footwear is designed in Sandbach and manufactured in Spain.

Sean said: "In terms of collecting plastic waste we get that either directly from the oceans themselves, or in coastal areas whether it be in Europe or Asia.

Sandbach: Would you make a shoe manufactured from plastic waste? (Image - Alexander Greensmith)

"There's lots of organisations that do this, that will actually have teams of collectors who will then receive a premium for collecting their plastic waste that then helps them with basic family necessities.

"There is even an organisation in Thailand where you have fishermen that will be paid the exact amount for a kilogram of plastic as they would for a kilogram of fish.

"And then that plastic waste is then shipped through our supplier where it is upcycled and effectively worked into a yarn that creates the shoes."

The plastic is turned into a granulated flake, then it is cleared, sorted and separated from any unwanted materials.

Flakes then get melted down into smaller plastic pellets, which go through an extruding process to spin and weave the plastic into a foot-shaped felt.

This forms the uppers of the slipper, cushioned by organic cotton on the inside. The sole of the slippers are made from natural rubber.

The environmentally-friendly businessman added: "We are a global operation, but we are very much a Cheshire business, myself and my partner are from Staffordshire and Cheshire.

"We ship globally of course; Kickstarter is not limited by location. But what's interesting is that we've had an extraordinarily high amount of orders coming from Cheshire like in Sandbach and Congleton. It really makes us proud to see that.

"As we broaden out, we want to become more of a lifestyle brand, but ultimately with that goal of making sure it is a brand that is not only sustainable but also accessible and affordable.

"Within the near future we are looking to expand to sneakers and children's sizes as well."

Sean, who was born in Stoke-On-Trent, aims to hit the milestone of using one million recycled plastic bottles in his products.

He started the company after being horrified by a Netflix documentary film on Earth's plastic problem.

Sean noticed that sustainable options for all lifestyle products were expensive and wants to change that with the Clearwaters brand one step at a time.

Sean wants to help start change in consumer habits, to put pressure on larger companies. He also added: "Amazingly, purchasing sustainable plastic costs more than virgin plastic.

"Virgin plastic is made from petrochemicals and is very dangerous for the environment.

"So, when these other companies are looking at their bottom line - cost is still a big factor and is why other companies will often just not work with sustainable materials.

"But that cost and attitude will only change when consumers start to support sustainable brands, and it becomes the norm and people become more conscious about where they spend their money."

Their products start from £34.95 and can be purchased on their website.

Two per cent of every pair sold is donated to a charity fighting the war on plastic.

You can find them on Instagram here.