Abstract

In April 2019, Adidas AG of Germany launched its fully recyclable training shoes – FUTURECRAFT.LOOP (Loop). It took Adidas close to seven years to develop the Loop out of a single material and without using any form of glue or solvent. The shoes were launched in a beta phase and a full scale commercial launch was slated for Spring 2021. The customers were supposed to return the Loop to Adidas once it had reached the end of its life. The company would then break down the shoes into their components and make a new shoe from the old one. For this purpose, Loop was constructed out of a single material – Thermoplastic Polye Utherane (TPU). Loop was a step toward reducing the waste and landfills created by the shoe industry. Making shoes out of used shoes was an entirely new concept as Adidas was recycling the old shoes instead of down cycling them. The company had been experimenting with various innovations to reduce waste and increase sustainability in the environment. And Loop was part of one such innovative offering from Adidas.

Learning Objectives

The case is structured to achieve the following Learning Objectives:

• Understand the importance of innovation in new product development
• Understand the process of concept testing a new product

Keywords

Adidas; Futurecraft Loop; Recycle; Circular Economy; Sustainability