Applications Shoes made
Applications Shoes made from sustainable materials A ccording to the UNEP [1], the fashion industry makes up for 10 % of global greenhouse gas emissions - more than international flights and shipping combined. Many footwear producers all around the globe are working hard to make their products more sustainable by using more biobased materials in the production of their shoes. The innovations range from replacing materials in parts of the outsole to more sustainable alternatives to whole closed-loop concepts. However, while sustainability is getting more and more important, quality is still the most important factor of the industry and none of the belowmentioned companies is sacrificing the performance of their shoes in the process to become more sustainable. It is rather the opposite, the need for both high-quality products and sustainability is what drives innovation. Toms One of these companies is the US-based footwear brand TOMS (headquartered in Los Angeles, California). They recently expanded their sustainability efforts by using the carbon-negative material I’m green biobased EVA from Braskem (Saõ Paulo, Brazil) in earthwise, a collection rooted in earth-friendly materials and processes. In footwear, a major component of the outsole is EVA, a substance that makes for a rubber-like texture and warrants durability. As conventional EVA derives from fossil fuels, it contributes to carbon emissions. In contrast, Braskem’s I’m green biobased EVA is made from biofuel obtained from sugar cane. It is the first earth-friendly alternative to conventional EVA that also offers the same comfort and longevity. One of Tom’s new earthwise styles is the tie-dye plant dye capsule – a shoe that already features earth-friendly elements in most of its components: Apart from the outsole being made with biobased EVA, the TENCEL Lyocell (cellulose regenerate fibre) lining is dyed through a chemical-free process using botanical pigments, and the Ortholite insole comprises of 26 % eco content (presumably recycled and castor-oil based materials). Mizuno Moving form outsole material to midsole material. The Japanese sportswear company Mizuno (Chiyoda prefecture), a leader in running footwear and apparel technology, has launched a new version of the iconic Wave Rider shoe range. The Mizuno Wave Rider 24 comes with the new Mizuno Enerzy technology (innovative high rebound midsole material) as well as Mizuno Wave Plate technology that is made from Pebax ® Rnew ® polymer, the biobased polyether block amide of Arkema (Colombes, France), derived from castor beans. In an effort to reduce its carbon footprint while maintaining super high performance, Mizuno designed the Wave Rider 24 with the biobased Pebax Rnew polymer range. The material has a unique mix of strength, flexibility and elasticity properties. It is finally moulded into the innovative Mizuno Wave Plate, offering excellent properties of resistance, flexibility and elasticity. Pebax Rnew is available with 20 up to 94 % biobased carbon (ASTM 6866). The Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) results show possible reductions of up to 29 % of fossil energy used and 32 % of equivalent CO 2 emissions. According to Arkema Pebax Rnew polymers is one of the materials that showcase biobased materials can provide comparable or even enhance performance compared to conventional petrochemical-based material. Reebok A combination of different renewably sourced materials can be found in Reebok’s recently launched first plantbased running shoes, the new Forever Floatride Grow. The plant-based castor bean midsole provides the same highperformance, lightweight, responsive cushioning as Floatride Energy, and the algae-based EVA foam (BLOOM, Meridian, Mississippi, USA) sock-liner adds comfortable cushioning. The upper is made of breathable, flexible eucalyptus tree textile and the natural rubber outsole is flexible and durable. The sustainable runner received a 59 % United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) certificate on its biobased content. Reebok brand president, Matt O’Toole said: “Our Cotton + Corn collection was the first step in making shoes from things that grow. Now, we have taken an award-winning running shoe, the Forever Floatride Energy, and reinvented it using natural materials to create what we feel is the most sustainable performance running shoe on the market. 30 bioplastics MAGAZINE [06/20] Vol. 15
Applications By 2024, Reebok’s sustainability mission is for shoes to be “made from things that grow’ rather than petroleumbased plastics and also to be free of virgin polyester, a nonrenewable and non-biodegradable resource.” said Mike Andrews, Advanced Development Director at Reebok, at thebeet.com product is recyclable in theory it is not recycled in practice. This has various reasons often outside the control of the product producer, so On decided to take out the middleman and plans to recycle the shoe themselves. Actually, it is a vital part of the Cyclon project, because it is a shoe you don’t own, not in the classical sense - it is a shoe subscription. At the end of their lifetime - which according to On is reached after six to nine months for active runners - the shoes are to be returned and the subscriber receives a new pair. On then processes the returned shoes into new products, promising to recycle 100% of the material. The project is planned to launch next year. AT/MT www.toms.com | www.braskem.com | www.arkema.com www.mizuno.com | www.pebaxpowered.com | www.reebok.com www.bloomtreadwell.com On running And last but not least is another shoe that is based on castor oil, the concept shoe Cyclone by the Swiss company On running (Zürich). Also based on castor oil, the Cyclon running shoe is engineered from two types of high-quality, high-performance polyamides. The upper is engineered from PA11, a biobased polyamide derived from castor beans. The bottom unit is engineered from the abovementioned polyether block amide Pebax. [1] UNEP. (2018). Putting the brakes on fast fashion. Retrieved from https:// www.unenvironment.org/news-and-stories/story/putting-brakes-fastfashion NATURE inside AGRANA.COM/BIOPLASTICS Boost biobased content! Improve biodegradation! Decrease your costs! Agrana AMITROPLAST ® – THERMOPLASTIC STARCHES Resin made from natural starch. User-friendly ingredient for compounding bioplastics. 100 % biobased. 100 % home-compostable. This upper is quite unique, as engineering a knitted fabric from PA11 is a challenging and complex process, and creating a textile shoe upper purely from this polyamide has never been done before, or at least not at this scale. On created an ultra-lightweight and highly resistant yarn that’s optimal for footwear. All this leads to a weight of only 200 grams per shoe, making it interesting for ambitious runners while saving resources. Not only is the Cyclon running shoe majority biobased, it’s 100 % recyclable and exceptionally high performance. And here is where the Cyclon becomes truly unique. Many companies advertise how recyclable their products are, but more often than not the truth is that even if the AGENACOMP ® – BIOPLASTIC COMPOUNDS The perfect combination of AMITROPLAST and other bio-polymers. 100 % home-compostable. For more information please contact bioplastics.starch@agrana.com We STARCH your bioplastics! bioplastics MAGAZINE [06/20] The Vol. natural 15 upgrade31
