Adidas introduces fully recyclable running shoe

Shoe and sportswear giant Adidas AG is unveiling a new way for its customers to do running repeats, unveiling what it says it the first 100 percent recyclable running shoe.

While sports footwear typically include complex material mixes and component glueing, resulting in a shoe which can only be downcycled, Adidas says its new Futurecraft.Loop shoe is a designed-for-recycling product using thermoplastic polyurethane that can be washed, ground to pellets and fully put back into a new shoe.

"Taking plastic waste out of the system is the first step, but we can't stop there," Eric Liedtke, executive board member for Adidas said in a news release about the shoe. "What happens to your shoes after you've worn them out? You throw them away, except there is no 'away.'"

Because most shoes are made of a variety of materials and also use glues, it is difficult to fully recycle them, and what is available to be recycled end up being used in less valuable items such as water bottles or tote bags, Adidas noted.

Adidas has also used recycled materials in shoes in the past. Since 2015, working with Parley for the Oceans, the company has produced shoes using an upper made solely with plastics reclaimed from marine debris, abandoned nets and waste on beaches.

With Futurecraft.Loop, Adidas worked with material development, manufacturing and recycling partners across Asia, North America and Europe to find a way to create a shoe that could be turned into other shoes.

The TPU selected can be spun, knitted, molded and fused to a TPU sole made at its SpeedFactory manufacturing sites in Düsseldorf, Germany, and Atlanta, the company said.

"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," said Tanyaradzwa Sahanga, manager, Technology Innovation for Adidas. "We're excited to see this first step come to life as part of the beta launch."

The first-generation Futurecraft.Loop shoe is being rolled out as part of a global beta program with 200 selected users who have early access to products.

Those users will wear the shoes, return them for recycling and provide feedback.

Futurecraft.Loop will not make it to the wider shoe using public until mid-2021.