Achieving a scientific feat for the fitness industry, the athletic shoe and performance sportswear company On has created the Cloudprime running shoe, which is crafted using carbon emissions the company produced. This move comes as fitness brands are shifting their focus on developing products that generate less waste and lessen environmental impact.
On’s CleanCloud manufacturing method is a result of its collaboration with Borealis and LanzaTech, two leading brands when it comes to sustainable resources. The three companies joined forces to cultivate a state-of-the-art EVA compound constituted of carbon waste.
On directed the inventive process with ingenious knowledge of renewable materials from Borealis, while LanzaTech delivered the ethanol caught for turning into the midsole itself. Ethanol approaches form by the fermentation of carbon monoxide.
After a long and scientific procedure of converting the ethanol into ethylene, On provided the new midsole to its partners at Zucca, who created the first-ever CleanCloud shoe. The brand aims to work from a sustainable perspective as one of its most crucial characteristics to offer the optimum quality of its products.
Image: On
According to Nils Altrogge, On’s Head of Technology Innovation;
There were some incredible proposals. One was to use synthetic biology to program bacteria, so they could convert CO2 to produce exactly the material we want. This sounded incredible, but it might only be feasible in around 50 years… It was at this point we realized that, if we were to use carbon emissions as a raw material in a scalable way, we’d need a proper supply chain. But such a supply chain didn’t exist. To make the dream a reality, we’d need to pioneer this new supply chain ourselves.
The athletic wear brand is using the first chemically upcycled TPU from plastic waste for the CleanCloud outsole in corporation with Novoloop to finish the shoe. The outsole was analyzed against fossil-derived shoes already on the market. On is also working with Fairbrics to create a polyester-based material from carbon emissions for the shoe’s upper part.
Image: On
The product is not yet available and there hasn’t been a price or on-sale dates. So far, the brand has created five pairs of the Cloudprime, however, it aims to make five million pairs of these sustainable shoes. This innovation can help various fitness companies help offset their carbon footprint.
Image: On