Run For The Environment With Shoes Actually Made From Carbon Emissions
Footwear brand On is letting customers literally own their carbon footprint with the launch of Cloudprime—its new sneaker with EVA foam derived from actual carbon emissions.
The creation, a collaboration with LanzaTech and Borealis, features an innovative material dubbed ‘CleanCloud’, which makes use of carbon emissions as the raw material for its midsole, eliminating the need for petroleum commonly used in constructing shoes.
First, carbon emissions are intercepted before escaping into the atmosphere, using technology that captures carbon monoxide from industrial sources or landfill sites that would otherwise turn into greenhouse gas carbon dioxide.
Following this, the emissions are then fermented using a patented process with specially selected bacteria, turning into liquid ethanol which is then dehydrated before being polymerized into EVA—the lightweight material used to create CleanCloud foam.
At the moment, while the brand has engineered the material into high-performance cushioning for runners, it plans to expand the use of CleanCloud to other parts of the shoe, and even other product ranges in the future.
“It’s a win-win situation: we are capturing emissions before they pollute our atmosphere and are at the same time moving away from fossil-based materials,” explained Caspar Coppetti, Co-Founder of On.
“By converting pollution to products, we can see that someday everything in our daily lives will come from recycled carbon,” added Jennifer Holmgren, CEO of LanzaTech.
