Shortlisted for sustainable design of the year at Dezeen Awards 2019, Futurecraft Loop is Adidas' first fully recyclable performance running shoe, made to be remade, with zero waste.

In a bid to mitigate the plastic crisis, sportswear brand Adidas has spent the last decade developing a sports shoe that is 100 per cent recyclable, with no compromise on performance. Footwear typically includes complex material mixes and gluing, resulting in a shoe that cannot be recycled. The running shoe is made completely from a single material, virgin thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU), which is the key to its recyclability. One of the biggest challenges in recycling sneakers is that they are made of many different materials, which are difficult to separate, sort and repurpose.

Not only did Adidas want to launch a revolutionary sustainable product, but also create a new purchase model, which continues after the product has left the store. Through the shoe, the brand aims to influence consumer attitudes to consumption and ownership.

Designer: Adidas
Project: Futurecraft Loop
Read more: Adidas