Global Giants Are Testing "Bio-Based Soles"!

On September 18, 2025, the Netherlands-based "Fashion for Good" platform announced the launch of the "Taking the Next Step: Biobased Materials for Shoe Soles" project. This is a 12-month initiative aimed at transforming the $400 billion (2.85 trillion RMB) footwear industry by redesigning one of the most impactful components in footwear—the sole.

The project collaborates with international industry giants such as adidas, Target, and Zalando, and works with leading material innovation companies like Algenesis Laboratories, Balena, Evoco, KUORI, and Yulex to test and validate bio-based polymers, making them a high-performance alternative to fossil fuel-derived materials, which currently dominate shoe production. By focusing on soles, the "Taking the Next Step" project is committed to accelerating the transition of the footwear industry towards scalable circular solutions.

The core component of footwear that impacts the environment is the outsole. Outsoles are primarily made from fossil fuel-based polymers such as polyurethane (PU), thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU), ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer (EVA), and rubber. Currently, large-scale recycling options for these materials are extremely limited, making circular solutions difficult to achieve. The outsole accounts for at least 40% of a shoe's total weight, making it a key factor in determining the overall environmental footprint of the product. A typical synthetic running shoe has a carbon footprint of about 14 kilograms of CO2 (equivalent to the emissions from charging a smartphone daily for 5 years), with 97% of the environmental impact traceable to raw material processing and production phases. Furthermore, the outsole is also a source of fiber fragmentation: synthetic materials like outsoles generate significant amounts of "primary microplastics" during wear, which are released into the environment. Studies have shown that these microplastic particles and additives can accumulate in soil, waterways, and even indoor air. Therefore, redesigning the outsole is not only an opportunity but also the most critical measure to reduce the environmental impact of the footwear industry.

The "Taking the Next Step" project is exactly the ambitious plan launched by "Wonderful Fashion" to address this challenge. All parties will work together to rigorously test and validate bio-based polymers, ensuring they become a viable, high-performance alternative to traditional materials.

To evaluate and promote the development of next-generation materials, this project adopts a comprehensive approach that combines three key aspects: material assessment, performance mapping, and testing.

First, the project will thoroughly verify the materials provided by innovative enterprises and ensure that these materials meet the performance requirements of the partners.

Subsequently, the project will collaborate with the UK SATRA Technology Centre (a global leader in footwear and leather goods testing) to test prototype products, comparing them with traditional materials to verify both performance and environmental impact.

Finally, the conclusions drawn from the tests will be used to develop a roadmap for large-scale application, which will include considerations such as impact assessment, raw material availability, end-of-life solutions, and the infrastructure needed to support broader application.

Katrin Ley, Executive Director of "Beautiful Fashion," stated, "The 'Next Step' project is a key collaborative initiative aimed at reducing the risks associated with the large-scale application of high-performance bio-based materials in footwear soles. By transforming the core components of shoes, we can address the most impactful aspects of the footwear lifecycle, paving the way for systemic change in the footwear industry."

Gudrun Messias, Director of Sustainability at Adidas, pointed out: "For Adidas, sustainability and performance go hand in hand. Through the 'Take the Next Step' project, we will collaborate with innovative companies to explore whether bio-based materials can both reduce the environmental impact of shoe soles and meet or even exceed the high-performance standards that athletes and consumers expect from Adidas products."

Pascal Brun, Vice President of Sustainability, Diversity, and Inclusion at Zalando, stated: "Our recently released 'Attitudes-Behaviors Gap Sustainability Report: It Takes Many' has confirmed that consumers crave more sustainable choices. We believe that material innovation is key to meeting this demand. The 'Next Step' project brings together the right partners to jointly redesign the foundation of every shoe—the sole—setting a new benchmark for the industry."