From foams to materials and coatings to cushions, round 40 supplies and fabrication strategies are concerned within the making of a typical shoe. Their improvement, manufacturing and transport – to not point out the artificial glues that bind them collectively – usually ship a mighty kick to the atmosphere.
Now, the OXMAN design lab has unveiled the O° shoe: “absolutely biodegradable” footwear that’s made totally from polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs). PHAs are natural supplies produced by micro organism that eat carbon dioxide, methane or meals waste, making them a sustainable different to petroleum-based plastics.
The shoe contains a knitted PHA yarn base on to which PHA outer layers are 3D printed. The method includes no petrochemicals or glues, says the corporate, and solely bacteria-derived pigments are used as dyes.
Neri Oxman, CEO and founding father of Oxman, mentioned the know-how “seeks to reduce hurt in its conception and nourish the atmosphere in its afterlife”.
The corporate is now exploring potential companions and buyers to deliver the manufacturing of O° footwear – plus textiles – to scale and to market.
Photographs: Nicholas Calcott, courtesy of OXMAN
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