Adidas’ Truth or Dare: How to sell the world’s first pair of single-material, 100% recyclable shoes? Following the launch of the first pair of sneakers made from ocean plastic, Adidas launched the first pair of FUTURECRAFT.LOOP in history that are 100% recyclable and made into good shoes. But this new shoe, which embodies the circular economy and "resurrects the defeated parts" of old shoes, makes Adidas face an unexpected and difficult problem: how to sell it? A pair of pure white shoes will emit a pearl-like luster when exposed to light. This is the new series FUTURECRAFT.LOOP launched by Adidas this year. However, this pair of shoes is only given away and not sold. Only 200 lucky people in the world can get it. It’s not a marketing campaign, it’s because the world’s second-largest sports brand doesn’t know how to sell a pair of shoes that are the first ever pair of jogging shoes that are 100% recycled, shredded, and remade into good shoes. From the sole to the laces, only a single material is used: thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU). There are no adhesives or stitches, instead heat and pressure are used to "fuse" the entire shoe. Products with obvious circular economy principles, but I don’t know how to sell products that are 100% recyclable and in line with today’s circular economy principles. Why do brands that are good at marketing not know how to sell them? The most straightforward answer is: the shoes are not perfect yet. Making a pair of shoes from a single material sounds simple, but it is actually not easy. Because there are about 12 materials in a pair of shoes, including adhesives, chemicals, etc., most of which cannot be easily separated. To achieve complete recycling, the first difficulty is to simplify the complex: shoes must be designed in line with the design of plastic bottles and cartons, so that a single material can be easily minced, melted, and reused. "Honestly, when I first heard about it, I thought it was very simple. I thought it would be simple to make shoes from just one material, and there were readily available materials. Then I realized that these materials didn't exist. In fact, we Every part of the shoe is made from scratch using TPU particles," said Adidas Vice President of Design Sam Handy. Making shoes from a single material faces arduous engineering challenges. Using a single material is completely contrary to the supply chain model of the traditional shoemaking industry, and also makes these shoes face arduous engineering challenges. First, the shoes will shrink. No. 9 running shoes will gradually shrink to size 6, and Adidas is still adjusting the base yarn and fumbling pair weave of FUTURECRAFT.LOOP. Secondly, a pair of old shoes cannot make a new pair. Although they can be 100% recycled, recycled materials currently only account for 10% of the next generation of shoes, which is still far away from the 100% goal. Yellowing is the third problem. Not only the soles of the shoes will turn yellow, but also the degree of yellowing is uneven in various parts of the shoes due to different weaving methods. A pair of shoes has yellow spots everywhere. Can you see it? Will consumers accept it? There are other variables. The first generation of FUTURECRAFT.LOOP is like a piece of pure white drawing paper, but the shoes are destined to get dirty, and the stubborn dirt, grass stains, and yellow spots on the shoes will also be crushed together. The remade shoes have lost the milky white color of pearls, and the last figure in the previous life has achieved the color of this life. If it continues from generation to generation, there is no guarantee that one day it will turn into a puddle of mud. In this regard, Adidas designers may gradually introduce dyes, allowing the shoes to undergo the baptism and "reincarnation" of time, from aqua blue to midnight blue, as if performing the magic of time. Therefore, the first generation launched in April this year is actually just a test version. While improving the technology, Adidas will also use this to understand consumer feedback, which will help launch the second generation in the spring and summer of 2021. Why does Adidas go to such trouble to overturn the traditional linear model and create a closed cycle? Because they want to subvert the traditional linear business model of "production, consumption, and disposal" in the shoemaking industry and create a closed shoemaking cycle, so that a pair of shoes can enter an infinite reincarnation and gain eternal life. “What happens to your shoes when they wear out? You throw them away – but they have nowhere to go but to landfills and incinerators, where they end up choking the atmosphere with too much carbon or filling up with plastic waste Ocean," Eric Liedtke, a member of Adidas' executive board, acknowledged the environmental damage caused by shoes. Adidas took the first step in 2016 and cooperated with Parley to launch the first jogging shoes in history made from sea plastic garbage and abandoned fishing nets commonly known as "ghost nets", regenerating marine waste. The next step is to end the concept of "waste" completely. We dream that you can wear the same shoes over and over again,” said Lideki. The traditional buyout model is unavailable. Should we adopt the "subscription economy" model instead? In order to bring old shoes back to life, in addition to solving technical problems, the bigger challenge is actually how to sell these shoes? Compared with the current buyout model, this kind of product is unprecedented. Adidas does not even know how to price and recycle this kind of shoes that have been repeatedly "resurrected". Because it is not difficult to sell out limited-edition new models, most consumers like the new and hate the old. What is difficult is to make consumers willing to pay for reborn shoes for the rest of their lives. According to the American magazine "Fast Company", Adidas has various ideas: buying shoes comes with a return mailbox, and providing free 1.5 replacement shoes while waiting for the shoes to be reborn. Or adopt the "subscription economy" approach and imitate "Rent the Runway" to rent out high-end designer brand clothing, or rent denim jeans from the Dutch brand "Mud Jeans" for a monthly payment of 7.5 euros (NT$270). “We understand that this is a distant vision in terms of technology, behavior, and every aspect,” admitted Tanyaradzwa Sahanga, Adidas’ head of technology innovation. The truth is, even the global shoe giant doesn’t have an answer yet. Truth or Dare, throwing ideas around to find solutions to plastic reduction "We choose to admit frankly and expose our vulnerability. We don't have all the answers, but we can't just sit back and wait for the answers to come out on their own," said James Kanais, vice president of strategy and construction at Adidas. Carnes said. Adidas Global Innovation Director Paul Gaudio also agreed that no one wants to expose their shortcomings: "This is very risky. We may wait a few more years to find out more answers before announcing them, but that will not help ( Industry) progress." Perhaps this is the "jogging shoe version" interpretation of the idea. FUTURECRAFT.LOOP is an open experiment to recruit industry partners in the same industry to find the answer to waste shoes and demonstrate how companies can be responsible for the life cycle of their products. Take full responsibility and implement corporate social responsibility. "We have said internally that the birth of LOOP is the beginning of the end of waste... If we get rid of plastic waste and solve the problem on a large scale, then we win, we all win," Gaudio pointed out Adidas's move The ultimate goal of this "Truth or Dare" game is to make all stakeholders in the shoe industry - including brands, supply chain manufacturers, consumers, and the planet - winners.
