Jesse James
The good folks over at adidas are always looking for new ways to push footwear forward. Today the brand with the three stripes is back with a new collaboration, offering something unique, functional, and eco-friendly, revealing a first look at the FUTURECRAFT.FOOTPRINT.
More than just a collaborative sneaker, at 2.94kg CO2e it represents a personal best for both brands as the result of a collective ambition to make a performance running shoe with no carbon footprint. The teams collaborated digitally from development to delivery while embracing a lower-carbon development process.
FUTURECRAFT.FOOTPRINT showcases a new approach to more sustainable design and an alternative method of manufacturing that drastically reduces carbon impact. The Allbirds and adidas counterparts studied every component and all aspects of the process with an analytical methodology. In under 12 months, they reimagined materials, manufacturing techniques, and even packaging, looking at ways to reach the lowest possible footprint. Two of the brand’s proprietary technologies are coming together and working in synergy.
The sneaker is based on adidas’ popular Lightstrike midsole and tested to the same performance standards. The FUTURECRAFT.FOOTPRINT midsole compound is reimagined with Allbirds’ sugarcane-based SweetFoam®, offering a low-carbon natural component. The sneaker’s upper features a newly developed material that is made with 70% recycled polyester and 30% natural Tencel – a material made from wood pulp.
This provides a smooth, lightweight design that lives up to performance expectations. Jamie McLellan, Head of Design at Allbirds, stated: “Both the upper and the outside construction are inspired by the Tangram Principle, with all individual parts in their entirety achieving as little scrap as possible in production in order to reduce waste.” The FUTURECRAFT FOOTPRINT will see an initial launch in May with a raffle of 100 pairs to adidas Creators Club members. However, the sneaker will see a larger release in Fall/Winter 2021, with many more to come in Spring/Summer 2022.
Take a closer look at the FUTURECRAFT FOOTPRINT and find out more from adidas right now. In the meantime, keep it locked with The Culture Curators for more new footwear coming soon.
Photos via adidas/allbirds
