Adidas has launched a 100% recyclable performance running shoe called the Futurecraft.Loop, which is made without glue and from materials that can be broken down and reused to create a brand new running shoe.
Sports footwear typically include complex material mixes and component gluing – resulting in a shoe that can only be downcycled.
But Adidas says it has found a way to change the process after nearly a decade of research and development alongside leading material development, manufacturing and recycling partners across Asia, Europe and North America.
Its solution is a transformative approach to designing performance shoes that are made to be remade from the outset, by using one material type and no glue.
Each component is made from 100% reusable thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU): it is spun into yarn, knitted, moulded and clean-fused to a Boost midsole using Adidas Speedfactory technology.
Once the shoes come to the end of their life and are returned to Adidas, they are washed, ground to pellets and melted into material for components for a new pair of shoes, with zero waste and nothing thrown away.
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By GlobalDataThe project has currently launched in its beta format ahead of its wider commercial release in 2021.
The initiative is part of Adidas’ wider sustainability strategy to reduce plastic waste. In 2015 it teamed up with Parley for the Oceans to launch the first performance footwear concept with an upper made entirely of yarns and filaments reclaimed and recycled from marine plastic waste and illegal deep-sea gillnets. In 2019 Adidas will produce 11m pairs of shoes with Ocean Plastic by Parley through intercepting plastic waste on beaches, remote islands and in coastal communities.
Adidas says it is committed to using only recycled polyester in every product and on every application where a solution exists by 2024.
Eric Liedtke, responsible for global brands at Adidas, says taking the plastic waste out of the system is only the first step. “What happens to your shoes after you’ve worn them out? You throw them away, except there is no away. There are only landfills and incinerators and ultimately an atmosphere choked with excess carbon or oceans filled with plastic waste. The next step is to end the concept of “waste” entirely. Our dream is that you can keep wearing the same shoes over and over again.
“Futurecraft.Loop is our first running shoe that is made to be remade. It is a statement of our intent to take responsibility for the entire life of our product; proof that we can build high-performance running shoes that you don’t have to throw away. [The] project is aimed at tackling the problem of plastic waste, enabling a “closed loop” or circular manufacturing model, where the raw materials can be repurposed again and again. But not just repurposed into a water bottle or a tote, but into another pair of high-performance running shoes.”
Tanyaradzwa Sahanga, manager, technology innovation, at Adidas, adds: “We set out to create a new type of product that we can take back, grind up and reapply into new Adidas product. We knew this was a far-reaching vision in every way; technically and even behaviourally. There were times when it didn’t seem like we could get over some of the technical hurdles. Now we’ve made the first leap, the playing field has changed. We cannot create a circular future on our own, we are going to need each other. We’re excited to see this first step come to life as part of the beta launch.”
