After unveiling its first shoe in the Futurecraft series in September, German sportswear manufacturer Adidas revealed its latest innovation, the Futurecraft Biofabric sneakers.
Made of a fabric called "biosteel," which is claimed to be a replication of natural silk, this prototype sneaker is said to be eco-friendly because it is nature-based and completely biodegradable, skipping the use of plastic.
"This concept represents premium innovation. By using biosteel fiber in our products, we have achieved an unrivaled level of sustainability," said James Carnes, the company's vice president of strategy creation.
"We are moving beyond closed loop and into an infinite loop-or even no loop at all. This is a pioneering stride forward beyond sustainability into a new territory of bionic innovation," he added.
The German biotech company AMSilk developed the biosteel fabric used in the sneakers.
"The sport shoes that have been developed together with Adidas are the first products worldwide with a high-performance material made of nature-identical silk biopolymers," said AMSilk CEO Jens Klein.
The Futurecraft Biofabrics weigh 15% lighter than other shoes made of synthetic fibers. Its appearance is much like other performance shoes, but it has holes for air circulation. The sneakers are also claimed to last two years of hard use.
The prototype sneaker was presented at November's Biofabricate Conference in New York, and is expected to be released sometime next year.
Since the sneaker is biodegradable, it can be easily disposed. Using a special enzyme, the sneakers will dissolve within 36 hours, leaving only the sole which has to be thrown separately.
"With this development we are setting new standards regarding the functionality of renewable textiles," the AMSIlk CEO said.
Adidas has been in consistent effort to protect the environment, working on cutting out the use of petroleum and fossil fuels from its manufacturing process. The company also eliminated the use of plastics in its stores.
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