Reebok steps into plant-based sustainable footwear

By

Kate Dingwall

Published
Apr 7, 2017

Reebok is making a move in support of planet Earth, announcing today its first plant-based footwear line. “Cotton and Corn”, a line of sneakers crafted entirely from sustainable materials, will hit the market later this year.

Reebok’s initiative was to create a shoe made entirely from ‘things that grow’, and that’s just what the fitness brand did – creating a shoe that was in part crafted from organically-sourced cotton, with a base crafted from Susterra Propanediol, a non-toxic product made from corn.

Bill McInnis, the head of Reebok Future, told the press in a statement, “This is really just the first step for us. With Cotton + Corn, we’re focused on all three phases of the product lifecycle. First, with product development, we’re using materials that grow and can be replenished, rather than the petroleum-based materials commonly used today.  Second, when the product hits the market we know our consumers don’t want to sacrifice on how sneakers look and perform. Finally, we care about what happens to the shoes when people are done with them. So we’ve focused on plant-based materials such as corn and cotton at the beginning, and compostability in the end.”

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To aid them in this process, Reebok has brought in plant-based consumer goods manufacturer DuPont Tate & Lyle Bio Products. 

Sustainability has been a hot topic in the athletics sector, with brands like Adidas, Nike, and Puma releasing more and more products and programs that flaunt eco-consciousness. Adidas launched its green company initiative in 2008, with the aim of eventually becoming a zero-emission company.

Though Nike has been under fire in the past for its use of sweatshops and child labor, the mega sports brand has said it is trying to reduce its discharge of hazardous chemicals to 'zero' by 2020. Puma has been continuously experimenting with recycled materials in its products, proudly decreasing waste production by 43% in 2014.