Meet the Adidas Futurecraft Loop, the world’s first 100% fully recyclable shoe that could see runners lacing up greener footwear in the future.
If you had to list sports that are good for the planet, you might be tempted to put running right up there. After all, the act itself has the potential to be as low impact on the environment as it gets and if you run commute, you’re even cutting your footprint.
But the truth is, running is a wasteful sport. With all those unused race t-shirts, the seas of single-use plastic bottles on race day and that appetite for new shoes which the experts tell us we should change every 300 miles.
It’s estimated that 300 million pairs of shoes are chucked each year and because of the way they’re made, the end game for most traditional shoes is in landfill or the incinerator. The use of multiple different materials and glues mean they’re hard to break down and often not fit for recycling.
Adidas has been pushing its eco-credentials for a while now, firstly with the Parley shoes made from recycled ocean plastics but the new Adidas Fututrecraft Loop are a giant leap forward in the race to create running shoes that do less damage to the planet.
Adidas Futurecraft Loop: Is this the green future of running shoes?
From the uppers down to the recognisable Boost foam sole and even the tips of the laces, the Futurecraft Loop are made entirely from one material, TPU, a type of plastic polyurethane that can be manipulated into many different forms and textures. Each shoe is made from 2,500 beads of the stuff but most importantly, once the shoe has run its races, it can be washed, ground down and turned back into a brand new shoe. Closing the Loop.
If you want to know more about the process, this mini doc offers more detail.
Adidas Loop price and availability
While this shoe is more than a concept – you can actually run in them and they run well – it’ll be a while until you see the Futurecraft Loop go on general sale.
Adidas expects a limited run to hit the shelves in 2020. No price has yet been confirmed but I’d expect them come in at the higher end of the running shoe price range.
