That adidas is one of the frontrunners in its field in terms of circularity has been clear for some time. For instance, we previously wrote that the sports brand only wants to use recycled plastic. Now it comes up with a running shoe that never has to be thrown away.
Back in 2015, adidas, in collaboration with Parley for the Oceans, came out with a shoe whose upper was made entirely of yarns and filaments recovered and recycled from plastic marine waste. This year, moreover, the company expects to make 11 million pairs of shoes from recycled ocean plastic. It is now going one step further by developing a circular shoe.
No more waste
"Getting plastic waste out of the system was step one, but we can't stop there," says Erik Liedtke, Executive Board Member at adidas. "What do you do with your shoes when you've worn them out? You throw them away. Today, these have nowhere to go but to landfills and incinerators, choking the atmosphere with excess carbon and causing a lot of plastic waste to end up in oceans. We want to change that. The next step is to end the concept of 'waste' completely. Our dream is that you can wear the same shoe over and over again. FUTURECRAFT.LOOP is our first running shoe made to be remade. It is a statement of our intention to take responsibility for the full life cycle of our product. It also shows that we can make a high-quality running shoe that you don't have to throw away."
The FUTURECRAFT.LOOP project aims to create a 'closed circle' or circular manufacturing model where raw materials are used over and over again. However, the materials are not used for, say, a water bottle, but for a new pair of high-quality running shoes.
How it works
Sports shoes typically contain a complex mix of materials and bonding, resulting in a shoe that can only be downcycled. After nearly a decade of research and material development, adidas has found a way to change that process. For FUTURECRAFT.LOOP, only one type of material and no glue was used. Each component is made of 100% reusable TPU, or Thermoplastic polyurethane. This material sits between hard plastic and silicone and is flexible, dimensionally stable and unbreakable.
Once the shoes reach the end of their first life and are returned to adidas - they are washed, ground into pellets and melted into material for components for a new pair of shoes, without throwing anything away. Each generation is designed to meet adidas sports performance without compromise.
Hurdles
Tanyaradzwa Sahanga, Manager Technology Innovation at adidas says: "Our goal was to develop a new product that we could take back, grind and use for a new adidas product. We knew this was a far-fetched vision and sometimes we didn't think we could get over the technical hurdles. But we took the plunge. We can't build a ciruclary future alone, we need each other for that. But we are very happy with this step."
"FUTURECRAFT is our design and innovation ethos," says Paul Gaudio, SVP Creative Direction & Future, at adidas. "We use new materials and processes to address the challenges needed to help athletes get better and to make this world a better place." It's about the intersection of art, science, technology, humanity, engineering and craft. It's applying creativity to reimagine the world we wish to see."
The launch of the shoe is likely to be sometime around spring 2021. First, the shoe will be extensively tested (including the return and reuse process) by users from all over the world.
Source: adidas.
