FUTURECRAFT.LOOP is the ambitious adidas project that could revolutionize the concept of the footwear market by creating a virtually immortal product
Plastics and their recycling are one of the problems of modern society. It is estimated that only 9% of plastic waste is recycled. adidas has looked for a solution to be applied to waste from the clothing industry. The result is FUTURECRAFT.LOOP, a 100% recyclable running shoe. The feasibility study starts in 2016 following the agreement with AMSilk, in April 2020 the route officially enters phase 2.
The company has distributed 200 pairs of shoes to athletes, musicians, artists all over the world, as well as selected employees. After a period of intense exploitation, adidas asked for the return of the shoes founding it quite difficult to recover all the material. The creators immediately understood that the challenge is not only technological but also cultural. In fact, consumers will have to face a radical change of mentality.
The shoes of generation 1 were then recycled to produce components of new shoes, creating a generation 2. The material was melted into new pellets, which were then heated to create eyelets, soles and other pieces of footwear. The remaining components such as the midsole and upper were produced from virgin material. The resulting running shoe is a collection of new and recycled parts and is itself 100% recyclable.
has adidas therefore found a way to manage the product’s end-of-life? We are certainly far from that, but FUTURECRAFT.LOOP0 is a giant step forward that can inspire even better solutions in the future. In the same vein, the company has promoted adidas Infinite Play, a new service that allows old adidas products to be marketed so they don’t end up being thrown away.