Fashion for Good has unveiled The Next Stride: Bio-Based Materials for Footwear Soles, a 12-month initiative designed to help transform the $400 billion footwear sector by tackling one of its most environmentally damaging components: the shoe sole.
The project brings together global brands adidas, Target and Zalando with innovators Algenesis Labs, Balena, Evoco, KUORI and Yulex to test bio-based polymers as high-performance alternatives to fossil fuel–derived materials. By focusing on the sole, which accounts for around 40% of a shoe’s mass and a significant share of its carbon footprint, the initiative aims to accelerate the adoption of scalable and circular solutions across the industry.
Conventional soles are made largely from polymers such as PU, TPU, EVA and rubber, which are difficult to recycle and contribute to widespread microplastic pollution. A typical synthetic running shoe has a carbon footprint of roughly 14kg of CO₂, with almost all of this impact stemming from raw material processing and manufacturing. Abrasion from soles is also a recognised source of microplastic fragments in soil, waterways and indoor environments.
The Next Stride will assess and validate the performance of bio-based alternatives, including rigorous prototype testing with independent research body SATRA. The findings will contribute to a roadmap for larger-scale adoption, factoring in feedstock availability, end-of-use solutions and the infrastructure needed for industry-wide implementation.
Katrin Ley, Managing Director at Fashion for Good, described the project as “a critical, collaborative intervention to de-risk the widespread adoption of high-performance bio-based alternatives for footwear soles. By transforming the very foundation of the shoe, we address the most impactful component in its lifecycle and open the door to systemic change in the footwear industry.”
Gudrun Messias, Director of Sustainability at adidas, added: “For adidas, sustainability and performance go hand in hand. Through The Next Stride, we will work with innovators to explore whether bio-based materials can lower the environmental impact of footwear soles while meeting or even enhancing the high-performance standards our athletes and consumers expect.”
Pascal Brun, VP Sustainability and D&I at Zalando, said: “Consumers aspire to more sustainable choices. Innovation in materials is key to meeting that demand. The Next Stride brings together the right partners to reimagine the sole, the foundation of every shoe, and set new benchmarks for the industry.”
