Adidas unveils the world's first shoe made from Biosteel, the biodegradable artificial silk

Adidas unveils the world's first shoe made from Biosteel, the biodegradable artificial silk

Economy & innovation · ·

The new footwear developed by Adidas combines science and nature in the name of innovation.

It is similar to the web woven by spiders, in terms of strength and elasticity, it is soft to the touch and completely biodegradable, yet it is artificial. We are talking about Biosteel, a high-performance fibre that replicates natural silk, developed by German biotechnology company AMSilk.

Nuove scarpe adidas con fibre Biosteel
The Biosteel fibres that make up the Futurecraft Biofabric shoe are a replica of natural silk (adidas Group/Hannah Hlavacek)

The world's first shoe made with Biosteel fibres

Adidas, the German sportswear giant, has produced in collaboration with AMSilk the first shoe made with Biosteel. The innovative footwear, constructed from silk biopolymers, was unveiled on 17 November at Biofabricate in New York, the annual summit dedicated to biotechnology and new materials.

Dettaglio delle nuove scarpe adidas biodegradabili
The shoe was presented at the Biofabricate Conference in New York, alongside the announcement of the partnership between adidas and German biotechnology company AMSilk (adidas Group/Hannah Hlavacek)

Strong, lightweight and eco-friendly

The shoe, called Futurecraft Biofabric, features an upper made entirely from Biosteel and delivers improved performance with an eye on environmental sustainability. The fibre used is 15 per cent lighter than traditional synthetic fibres and is the strongest fully natural product available.

Plastica depositata dal mare su una spiaggia
adidas has launched an initiative, in collaboration with the association Parley for the Oceans, to clean up the world's oceans, both through communication and awareness-raising activities and through direct action, such as the development of materials made from marine plastic waste that it will use in its own products (Photo by Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)

Adidas and sustainability

The creation of biodegradable shoes through a fully natural process represents another step forward for the German group towards sustainability. Last year, Adidas had already unveiled the first pair of shoes made from ocean waste, developed in collaboration with the association Parley for the Oceans. "The announcement of our partnership with AMSilk, together with the presentation of the adidas Futurecraft Biofabric, marks another milestone in our commitment to redefining the sportswear industry. By using Biosteel fibres in our products we have achieved an unparalleled level of sustainability. This is a pioneering step forward, beyond sustainability, into new territory: bionic innovation," said James Carnes, Vice President of Strategy Creation at Adidas.