27 Apr 2021
Adidas reveals plans to launch 'mushroom leather' shoe
BY Tom Walker
Sports equipment and apparel giant Adidas has revealed plans to produce a mycelium leather version of its classic Stan Smith trainers.
The German firm joins a string of brands and designers to create products using the new mushroom-based material, seen as a sustainable alternative to traditional leather.
Fashion designer Stella McCartney, French luxury goods company Hermés and architect Carlo Ratti have all experimented with mycelium.
Adidas' mycelium shoe concept was made possible through a partnership with Bolt Threads, a biotechnology company committed to creating the next generation of advanced materials.
Bolt Threads is specialist in Mylo material – made from the underground roots of mushrooms – and is currently developing a commercially available form of mycelium.
Mylo is created using a process which takes less than two weeks and utilises a vertical agriculture technique, allowing the mycelium to be grown in a space-efficient system that increases the yield per square foot.
When used for production, the material is versatile as it can take on any colour, finish or emboss.
Stan Smith Mylo will be the first shoe to be made using the material and Adidas said the concept marks the company's "pinnacle exploration into creating footwear products that are truly Made with Nature".
Amy Jones Vaterlaus, global head of future at Adidas, said: " The introduction of Mylo as a new material is a major step forward in our bold ambition to help end plastic waste.
"As a planet, we must learn to work with nature rather than against it and put all our efforts into finding innovative solutions that are created responsibly with resources that renew at a sustainable pace.
"As a brand, we continue to explore the possibilities in material innovation."
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