[#video: https://players.brightcove.net/635709154001/default_default/index.html?videoId=ref: 5402950758001]|||Reebok and the green initiative Cotton & Corn|||
Reebok is becoming increasingly green. The sportswear brand presents Cotton & Corn, the eco initiative that involves the launch of a new line of completely sustainable sneakers. The Reebok Future team, responsible for the project, aims to create products of natural origin: the first shoe in the collection will have an upper made of organic cotton and a sole made from a non-food corn-derived material.
“This is just the first big step of our Cotton & Corn initiative,” says Bill McInnis, head of Reebok Future. “Our work focuses on the entire product lifecycle. We want to use only raw materials that grow naturally and can be reintegrated into nature, avoiding the use of petroleum derivatives. At the same time, we are aware that consumers do not want to compromise on the aesthetic and performance of the shoe. We also care about the future of the footwear after use, aiming to offer products that can be naturally composted after use. We like to say that at Reebok we ‘grow shoes’. Our goal is to create a wide range of bio sneakers that, at the end of their lifecycle, can become compost for new shoes, without waste of materials or resources. The ambition is to close the loop, going from dust to dust. The main problem with today’s production chain is that almost all shoes end up in landfills: a trend we would like to change.”
To carry out this project, Reebok collaborated with **DuPont Tate & Lyle BioProducts,** a leading company in high-performance bio solutions, which developed the propanediol Susterra, an ecological material, free of toxic agents or petroleum, derived from corn, with which the shoe soles will be made.
“Be More Human, Reebok’s philosophy, also includes sustainability and environmental respect,” explains Matt O’Toole, the brand’s president. “As human beings, we have a responsibility to preserve our planet for future generations. As a brand, we intend to focus on sustainability through this program and other future initiatives we are working on.”