Footwear
Sep 16, 2022
by James Roberts
On Reveals the Cloudprime, the First Shoe Made From Carbon Emissions
by James Roberts
Sep 16, 2022

This is a first-of-its-kind that’s really going to turn some heads. Swiss footwear brand On has revealed its first shoe made with CleanCloud™, an EVA foam that uses carbon emissions as a raw material.

That’s right. The harmful vapor that pours out of factories across the planet can now be captured, processed and formed to create the midsole of a running shoe. You can feel those heads turning now.

On calls this new sneaker the Cloudprime. It’s a high-performance running shoe, designed for athletes. It features On’s signature cloud-like, bubble sole which is built for comfy landings and springy take-offs. The upper is perforated and is colored with a blue-purple gradient. It looks distinctive like all On shoes do. But that midsole is different.

The Cloudprime is the result of five years of work and a collaboration between six brands. Three of those brands — LanzaTech, Borealis and Technip Energies — form the supply chain coalition that manufacturers CleanCloud™.

< EXPERIENCE THE ON CLOUDPRIME IN 3D AND AUGMENTED REALITY BELOW >

In basic terms, it goes like this: LanzaTech captures carbon monoxide emitted from industrial sources and ferments it with bacteria into ethanol; Technip Energies then dehydrates the ethanol to make ethylene; then Borealis polymerizes ethylene to become EVA in the form of solid small plastic pellets; finally, On gets hold of the pellets to create the performance foam it uses in the Cloudprime.

In addition to these partners, On is working with Novoloop to chemically upcycle TPU from post-consumer plastic waste for the CleanCloud™ outsole, and with Fairbrics to create a polyester-based textile made from carbon emissions.

This style of collaboration is crucial in producing this complex shoe at scale. No one brand or company has all the answers. The future for On is petroleum-free and fully circular, but that will only be achieved if it continues to co-create.

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“Holding the first-ever shoe made of carbon emissions in my hands is a huge milestone – not only for On, but for the whole sports industry”, explains Caspar Coppetti, Co-Founder and Executive Co-Chairman of On. “Five years ago, this was barely a dream. Imagine what can happen in the future as we unlock the potential of alternative carbon sources with further research and in collaboration with the best partners.”

We can’t wait to get these on our feet. We hope they perform as well as they recycle, and that On uses this tech across its whole range soon.

In the meantime, check out our 3D and AR (on our mobile site) experiences above.

Stay tuned for more and check out the On website in the meantime.

< Created in partnership with On >