The future of footwear isn’t just about self-tying shoes—it’s also about mimicking nature to make stronger, higher-performance, more sustainable materials. Earlier this month at the synthetic biology and design conference Biofabricate in New York City, Adidas unveiled the Futurecraft Biofabric. The company says this will be the world’s first athletic shoe that's 100 percent biodegradable.
How is this possible? Adidas worked with another German company called AMSilk, incorporating its Biosteel fabric, a new type of fiber "grown" by bacteria and designed to mimic the properties of natural spider silk—namely, strength and lightness.
At the same time, the shoes can also be quickly broken down and safely returned to the environment, using a specific enzyme (so you don’t have to worry about them turning to mush while you’re out for a run in the rain).
Watch our exclusive interview with Jame Carnes of Adidas and Jens Klein, CEO of AMSilk, to learn more about their new creation. Adidas plans to make the Futurecraft Biofabric available in limited quantities in 2017, for a yet-undetermined price.
Get six of our favorite Motherboard stories every day by signing up for our newsletter.
from The New Adidas Are Made From Lab-Grown Spider Silk
No comments:
Post a Comment