adidas recently announced the introduction of its 100% recyclable performance running shoe under the FUTURECRAFT.LOOP line, where the entire shoe is made by using one type of material and no glue, it can be repurposed again and again into another pair of high-performance running shoes. BASF contributed the materials and processing know-how to this product line. Each component is made from 100% reusable thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) – it’s spun to yarn, knitted, molded 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 – zero-waste and nothing are thrown away. Each generation is reportedly designed to meet the adidas sports performance standard without compromise. The goal is to tackle the problem of plastic waste where the raw materials can be re-purposed again and again.
The first-gen FUTURECRAFT.LOOP shoe is rolling out as part of a global beta program with 200 leading Creators from across the world’s major cities. adidas will challenge them to run, return the shoes and share feedback on their experience, ahead of the second-gen drop.
The insights will be used to shape the roadmap for the wider release targeted for Spring-Summer 2021.
According to an article from Gizmodo, Adidas also wants to incentivize owners to take part in its recycling process with a cash reward. While Adidas is still working out the specifics, it’s planning on refunding between $10 and $20 or possibly more to owners for dropping their shoes off at a nearby store or sending them back in to be recycled. And to help remind people when it’s time, owners will even be able to register their shoe in an app using the QR code printed on the shoe’s tongue.
Unfortunately, while the first-gen Loops are 100 percent recyclable, the Gizmodo article reported that right now, Adidas’ recycling process is only able to reuse 5 to 10 percent of that original material for use in crafting second-generation Loops. The rest of the recycled material will get put to use in making other Loop products. That’s not exactly what everyone might have in mind when they see the “100% recyclable” tag featured on the laces of the first-gen Loops.
If Adidas can increase the amount of recyclable material used in future generations, it may be possible for Adidas to hit or get close to its target around when the Loop officially launches sometime in the second half of 2020.
In 2015, adidas in collaboration with Parley for the Oceans introduced its first performance footwear concept with an upper made entirely of reclaimed and recycled yarns and filaments from marine plastic waste and illegal deep-sea gillnets. This year, adidas claims it will produce around 11 million pairs of shoes with Ocean Plastic by Parley.
Meanwhile, in 2016, the company debuted a shoe called the Adidas Futurecraft Biofabric, which is made from a synthetic silk molecule called Biosteel® produced by German manufacturer AMSilk. The synthetic silk is produced using a biotechnological process as an alternative to natural silk. It is said to be 15% lighter than conventional silk fibres and is 100% biodegradable. The shoe will only decompose when put in contact with a high concentration of the enzyme proteinase, and it can decompose within 36 hours.
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