Back in April, Adidas got the ball rolling on its Futurecraft.Loop initiative; a long-term project aimed at developing fully-recyclable running shoes. In an effort dubbed Phase 1, these sustainable shoes were then given to some 200 people to test for a few months before returning them to the German footwear giant who planned on breaking the footwear back down into TPU (Thermoplastic Polyurethane) pellets and then using the material to produce another recyclable shoe in what the company hopes will ultimately be a sustainable cycle.
Almost eight months after the project was launched, Adidas has now unveiled the shoes made from the repurposed Phase 1 batch to deliver the new Phase 2. While Adidas has undeniably made some impressive strides thus far, there remains a lot of work to be done — as, at present, only 5-10% of the Phase 2 shoes are made from up-cycled material. This still includes the Phase 2’s tongue label, outsole, eyelets, and some structural internal reinforcements, while the remaining parts of the running shoe are comprised of new TPU. Unlike the first 200 pairs which were off-white and didn’t have any added color, the Phase 2 sports a blue colorway. The Phase 2 shoes are slated to be sent back to beta testers in the near future, and while Adidas has yet to reveal pricing, the recyclable kicks are scheduled for a public release in mid-2021.
