adidas presents recyclable single-material running shoe

adidas has revealed the Futurecraft.Loop, a 100% recyclable performance running shoe. Together with Parley for the Oceans, the company introduced in 2015 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.adidas said that in 2019 it will produce 11 million pairs of shoes containing recycled ocean plastic through intercepting plastic waste on beaches, remote islands and in coastal communities. adidas is committed to using only recycled polyester in every product and on every application where a solution exists by 2024.

“Taking plastic waste out of the system is the first step, but we can’t stop there,” said Eric Liedtke, Executive Board Member at Adidas and responsible for Global Brands. “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”, Liedtke said.

The Futurecraft.Loop is made of TPU only. (Source: adidas)

Made from 100% reusable TPU

The shoe 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. It is spun to yarn, knitted, moulded and clean-fused to a Boost midsole using adidas Speedfactory technology.

Once the shoes come to the end of their first 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.

www.adidas.com