Jovani Hernandez Since the mid-2010s, adidas has publicly committed (and dedicated) itself to a greener planet. Partners the likes of Parley for the Oceans and Sean Wotherspoon have helped it inch closer to its goal of minimizing ocean plastic pollution and using 100% recycled polyester in its products by 2024, but major credit must be given to the German sportswear manufacturer itself. Although several of the brand’s approaches to sustainable footwear are surely still under wraps, the newly-surfaced adidas Stan Smith Mylo has unveiled yet another way the Three Stripes plans to end plastic waste: Mycelium.
The recently-announced UltraBOOST 6.0 ensures solutions like PRIMEBLUE aren’t going anywhere anytime soon, but adidas Originals‘ latest proposition suggests the at least 50% recycled Parley Ocean Plastic-material will have long-term, mushroom-based company. In addition to being natural, Mycelium – “a sprawling, renewable interlaced web that threads through soil” – enables versatility not yet possible through some of the other eco-friendly approaches the brand has explored. For its inaugural presentation, the Mylo material (which derives from Mycelium) has indulged a simple off-white tone, although it can take on any color, finish and emboss.
Made possible in collaboration with biotechnology company Bolt Threads, Mylo’s life-cycle is as follows: Mycelium’s natural growing conditions are recreated in a lab; sawdust and other organic matter is mixed with the vegetative part of s fungus to scale up growth into an soft foam-resembling, interconnected network. Well-formed lattices are harvested, while leftover by-products are composted. The final two steps in the sustainable process transform the supple material into paneling that looks, feels and performs like leather and stitch sheets of the material together to create shoes’ uppers. Natural rubber outsoles further tap into adidas’ environmentally-conscious efforts without sacrificing timeless style.
Enjoy imagery of the Stan Smith Mylo here below, and anticipate a wide-scale rollout of these (and other shoes) in the near future.
For more sustainable footwear from underneath the Three Stripes banner, check out the Yeezy Foam Runner.
Source: adidas Blog
