New Adidas performance running shoes have less than fifth the carbon footprint of a kilo of coffee

Runners are generally environmentally-conscious (not when racing, though) and if you're one of these runners, you'll appreciate Adidas' new performance running shoes, the FUTURECRAFT.FOOTPRINT, created in collaboration with Allbirds. Adidas has already been famous for designing the best running shoes that aren't too terrible for the environment either, but with the new Adidas x Allbirds FUTURECRAFT.FOOTPRINT, Adidas elevated its green-game to a whole new level. 

Adidas keeps on releasing more and more greener shoes lately. The brilliant Adidas 4DFDW running shoes are made of at least 40% 'bio-based' material and now the Adidas x Allbirds FUTURECRAFT.FOOTPRINT, the result of a collaboration between two environmentally conscious brands, has a reduced carbon footprint of 2.94 kg CO2e, representing 63% less emissions when measured against a comparable running shoe, the adizero RC3 at 7.86kg C02e.

The FUTURECRAFT.FOOTPRINT is an admirable effort from both brands and definitely a step in the right direction, but the collaboration is far from being the only sustainable performance running shoes on the market today. The On Cyclon is a subscription-based shoe that's 100% recycled once returned to On Running after it was worn down. The Salomon Index.01 is a similar concept to the Cyclon in a sense that the shoes get recycled when returned to the manufacturer and also utilise recycled material in the shoes themselves, but these shoes can be bought with a one-off payment.

However, the FUTURECRAFT.FOOTPRINT approaches sustainability from a slightly different angle and tries to reduce the overall carbon footprint of the shoes when it comes to manufacturing (and probably transportation, at least hopefully). Better still, much like the Cyclon and the Index.01, the FUTURECRAFT.FOOTPRINT is said to be a performance running shoe, so not just eye-candy. Excellent!

Adidas x Allbirds FUTURECRAFT.FOOTPRINT: price and release date

FUTURECRAFT.FOOTPRINT will see an initial launch in May with a raffle of 100 pairs to adidas Creators Club members, before a FW21 release limited to 10,000 pairs, and a wider release in SS22. 

Adidas x Allbirds FUTURECRAFT.FOOTPRINT: features

Some of the uppers used in Adidas' performance footwear were already pretty sustainable, including the Primegreen range that uses no 'virgin' plastic, meaning all plastic included in the material is recycled, not created.

The Adidas Parley range also uses recycled 'ocean-plastic', and even just thinking about the fact that there is enough plastic in the oceans to supply such operations is disturbing, but at least Adidas is doing its part to get rid of some of it in a meaningful way.

Representing another material collaboration, the newly developed upper material used in the FUTURECRAFT.FOOTPRINT is made with 70% recycled polyester and 30% natural Tencel – a material made from wood pulp – for a "smooth, lightweight upper that lives up to performance expectations with a highly reduced carbon impact", as Adidas explains.

The FUTURECRAFT.FOOTPRINT midsole compound is reimagined with Allbirds’ sugarcane-based SweetFoam, offering a "low-carbon natural component" and based on Adidas’ popular Lightstrike midsole, the same midsole compound used in the excellent Adidas SL20 running shoes and the Adidas ZG21 golf shoes.

We strongly recommend signing up for the Adidas Creators Club to be able to get your hands on the shoes as early as possible, although if you're happy to wait a few months, the shoes will have a wider release in SS22. Only 8-10 months to go!