Comment: First's recycling bid

Style statement, the ultimate green public transport, or perhaps a combination of both.

It seems First's latest venture, into the fickle world of trendy footwear, has already caught the attention of Bristolians.

The travel company has teamed up with a recycling firm to produce the shoes, with the uppers made from recycled bus seat covers and the soles from old tyres.

As a fashion statement, the jury remains out, but as a signal of eco-intent, this is a shrewd move by the company.

The whole debate over public transport and the environment is more heated in Bristol than in most parts of the country, with the city often at a standstill as its streets struggle to cope with the volume of traffic.

Looming on the horizon is the possibility of congestion charging, but opponents point to the lack of an efficient and joined-up public transport system which would be essential for a charging system to work.

Now, First working with a recycling company to produce eco-trainers is not going to advance the debate on public transport in Bristol.

But it gives the company the chance to align itself with young environmentalists and it also must be given plaudits for offering the materials without seeking to make a quick profit, a charge often levelled at First in the past.

There will be cynics who dismiss this as a publicity stunt and they are probably not completely wrong.

But the symbolism of a bus company taking its waste materials and turning them into a product which allows people to avoid any kind of motorised transport at all should not be lost on all of us.

Maybe First has made the statement that there is a possible harmony with walkers and bus travellers. Now it's over to everyone else.