Adidas Launch First Ever 100% Recyclable Trainer
Sustainability and green products used to just be buzzwords in the past, but with mounting research on the damage being done to the environment, companies have begun to take it a tad more seriously. Unfortunately, a lot of our cool threads and kicks have decidedly unacceptable carbon footprints, so different manufacturing methods and materials are going to have to become the norm – and fast. Luckily, companies like Adidas seem to be latching onto the idea of more sustainable products that don’t compromise on style or looks – exhibit A: the Adidas Futurecraft Loop Running Shoes:
Now, avid sneakerheads will remember a previous iteration of the Futurecraft, which utilised a 3D printing-like process for its manufacturing. That version of the Futurecraft was quite difficult to come by, and it looks like the Loop runners are going to be as equally scarce at only 200 pairs for some lucky beta testers.
The good thing about this line, though, is that it puts Adidas’s planned manufacturing process for their sneakers front and centre. They’re making the Futurecraft Loop sneakers out of 100% reusable TPU plastic which is fused onto their famed BOOST midsoles.
At the end of its lifecycle, the pair of shoes can then be washed and mashed into pellets and melted into ingredients for yet another pair of shoes – decreasing the amount of synthetic waste chucked into landfills every year. If Adidas is smart, they’ll incentivise customers to return old and worn-out pairs of shoes to their stores so that they ensure their TPU materials keep on being used in a wasteless fashion.
And let’s face it – if their sustainable products keep looking this good who won’t want to grab a pair of them?