Reebok Is Branching Out Into Plant-Based Sneakers
Screenshot via Reebok
A 2013 MIT study found that making just one pair of typical running shoes emits 30 pounds of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. It’s a good thing, then, that Reebok’s latest venture is anything but the typical running shoe.
The soon-to-be-Boston-based sportswear giant announced Tuesday that it’s dropping a line of plant-based shoes this fall. The line, Cotton + Corn, is named for its primary materials, and is all about being as friendly to the planet as you are to your feet.
The first Cotton + Corn shoes will boast a body made from organic cotton, and a sole made from a petroleum-free, non-toxic product derived from industrial-grown corn. DuPont Tate and Lyle Bio Products worked with Reebok to create the natural material.
Even cooler? By nature of their ingredients, the kicks will be compostable—ideally allowing Reebok to use the first iteration of its sneakers to grow the second.
“We like to say, we are ‘growing shoes’ here at Reebok,” Head of Reebok Future Bill McInnis says in a statement. “Ultimately, our goal is to create a broad selection of bio-based footwear that can be composted after use. We’ll then use that compost as part of the soil to grow the materials for the next range of shoes. We want to take the entire cycle into account; to go from dust to dust.”
More details are on the way, but Reebok promises that eco-friendly shoes are here to stay.
