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A sustainable shoe concept made with a mushroom-based material.
In the quest to move away from fossil fuel-based resources and find the best sustainable materials, adidas has turned its attention to nature. The company aims to completely overhaul its manufacturing processes in the future and use materials developed from natural ingredients. At the end of their life, shoes and sneakers can then easily return to nature. The adidas Stan Smith Mylo™ shoe is a concept design that showcases the potential of renewable and easily recyclable materials. Made from a mushroom-based material, the shoe has a soft feel reminiscent of leather.
The innovative Mylo material is manufactured from renewable mycelium, the sprawling, interlaced web of mushrooms’ underground vegetative part. As it grows in less than two weeks through a cutting-edge vertical growing process that uses both minimal space and resources, the mycelium allows the company to produce Mylo in a green, sustainable way. The material rivals animal and synthetic leathers with its soft and supple feel as well as its performance. Mylo can also take any color, emboss, and finish, opening up endless design possibilities. However, adidas chose to showcase the technology with the iconic and elegantly simple Stan Smith shoe.
Produced in a collaboration with biotechnology company Bolt Threads, the shoe celebrates adidas’ heritage while opening a new chapter for the footwear brand. Stan Smith Mylo™ has an upper and heel tab overlay made from the new material with a natural rubber midsole. The design marks adidas’ commitment to sustainable manufacturing, with a wider rollout of the material planned for the near future. Photographs© adidas.
