Asics too has entered the field of footwear recycling by launching the Nimbus Mirai running model, a product designed for closed-loop recycling.

To reach its objective, Asics has partnered with recycling specialist TerraCycle, which has developed a process for recycling all the components and materials that make up a pair of shoes, from the sole to the laces. The Nimbus Mirai are priced at €200, and when customers will decide to dispose of a pair, all they will need to do is send it back to an address provided, or hand them back in to an Asics store.

The Nimbus Mirai shoes are 80% made with homogeneous recyclable polyester. The sole is 24% made using the FF Blast Plus Eco foam, derived from sugar cane processing waste. According to Asics, a single pair of the model generates only 6.1 kg of CO2 emissions during its life cycle, 57% less than the industry average.

“The footwear industry has yet to find an effective solution to the issue of waste generation,” said Fumitaka Kamifukumoto, head of materials at Asics’s footwear division. “We have carried out in-depth research and we are proud to present a high-performance running shoe developed with materials that can be used and reused again, putting an end to products with a single-use life cycle,” he added.

Each year, 23.9 billion pairs of shoes are manufactured worldwide, and 95% of them are not recycled, according to data by Statista. Major labels and sportswear brands are increasingly aware of this issue. For example Puma, which launched the Re:Suede recycled shoes in 2021, and last year inked a partnership deal with Collina Strada for the same purpose.

In September 2020, On entered the fray by introducing Cyclon, a recycled model which running enthusiasts can only access on a subscription basis. The following year, French brand Salomon unveiled its own model of recyclable running shoes, the Index.01.