The Loop continues. Today, adidas unveiled “Generation 2” of their first fully recyclable sneakers, showing off their “closed loop” process as well as a rebuilt silhouette and new blue colorway of the Futurecraft Loop.
adidas first announced the Futurecraft Loop initiative earlier this year, unveiling the brand’s first 100% recyclable footwear. Since then, the team behind it has been hard at work making the concept of the design a reality, taking back the shoes they sent out for testing, breaking them down, and creating a whole new pair from the renewed materials. The new pair is being referred to as “Generation 2”, marking the second silhouette constructed from the same amount of fabric, rubber, and plastic. This time around, the Futurecraft Loop takes on a slightly altered design as well as a new blue color scheme, reminiscent of the Three Stripes initial sustainability initiative with Parley for the Oceans.
The adidas Futurecraft Loop is not going to be available to the public until 2021, unfortunately. As of the, the brand is still in the early testing phase, likely so the brand can figure out how many cycles the raw materials can sustain before needing to be replaced. However, adidas Running Footwear Developer Amanda Verbeck stated that they ”collected the shoes, recycled them, kept them in our supply chain and ultimately remade the recycled material into new running shoe components. The material is melted and developed into new pellets, which are heated to form new components including the eyelets and outsole. Virgin TPU material is used to create the remaining components of the midsole and upper.”
At least they are keeping us up to date on the process. Check out some of adidas’ photos of the Futurecraft Loop Generation 2 below, and stay tunes to JustFreshKicks for more information as we edge closer to the 2021 release.