POLYMERS IN FOOTWEAR | EVENT PREVIEW


see, in the next couple of years, which sustainability path means the most to the consumer, reclaimed and recycled materials or increasing the feedstock from renewable resources.


What are your predictions for the footwear industry in the next 3-5 years? Really the next couple of years for the footwear industry are going to be about focussing on supply chain refinements to eliminate inefficiencies and mitigate scrap. Generally speaking, carrying large amounts of stock on cyclical and fashion influenced products is a risky endeavour and all brands will be focussing on how to cut the fat out of their supply chains. Increasing speed to market by compressing the development cycle will be an important aspect of cutting down on excess stock. These initiatives can be supported by digital design and manufacturing tools such as 3D modelling and rendering, 3D printing, and knitting technologies, as well as other digital tools. Sustainability will be the largest theme going


forward with all companies striving to eliminate scrap in production, increase utilization of renew- able resources in raw feedstock, incorporating recycled materials in their construction, extending product lifecycles, and determining how to recycle product at end of life.


Kui Cai, Design Director, Peak Sports USA Design Center, US


What are the latest footwear materials and technology developments? As a designer, I’d like to say


that the latest and the most exciting footwear materials are the ones that focus on the sustain- able, “closed-loop” systems. From a technological standpoint, 3D printing pushes the entire sustain- able design idea forward; not just increasing the efficiency of material use but also making changes from the very fundamental (it could roughly save up to 80% of the processing expense and man- power compared to the traditional process).


What are the three trends shaping the future of the footwear industry? Sustainability is one of the key trends that shape the future. Over 20 billion pairs of shoes are made annually worldwide and about 90% end up in incinerators or landfills. Environmental protection is a responsibility for everyone. And I am glad that now we can finally try to create a balance between


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economy and sustainability. Digitalization would be another huge hit to the footwear industry. Virtual reality tools enable designers to “hold” their imaginations in hands and present in fast and convincing ways to their audiences. More and more individual artists and designers


start doing their own “reconstructing” and custom- ized footwear. It is very inspiring to see how they are trying different ways to mix and match or repurpose various materials and parts to create something new. Hyped by social media platforms, they are getting an unbelievable amount of attention from consumers and it has become quite a trend that could not be neglected.


Dr. Romesh Patel, Senior Manager, Materials Innovation, Allbirds, US


What are the key material innovations to look out for in the near term? Our materials innovation


strategy is to look at every single material compo- nent in our shoes and start choosing preferred materials wherever possible without compromising on performance. We tally up our list of materials and start with the most impactful materials first and work down the list. We feel very positive about our current Hero material choices (ZQ-wool, FSC-Ten- cel, and sugar-based EVA) because they are helping us clean up the incoming stream of raw materials. Materials innovation and their method- of-make go hand in hand.


In addition to our continued pursuit for high bio-contents in our current materials, we are also working on using more thermoplastic polymers that would enable circularity. However, these new materials will not be processible in existing equipment and may require new processing capabilities. We see this as an opportunity to drive down our carbon footprint even further.


What are the main targets for sustainability? It’s still surreal just how dated the shoe making process is. Though there are some futuristic factories that give us insights on what is possible, the truth is that a vast majority of the shoes are more or less still made just as they were 50 years ago. If we want to build a circular economy, we need to be able to collect old shoes and easily take them apart in the end.


n See booking details for Polymers in Footwear at the conference website.


January/February 2020 | INJECTION WORLD 35


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