Adidas has unveiled the prototype of sneakers, which are partly made up of artificial biodegradable material. The new model is called Futurecraft Biofabric. This was reported on the company’s website.
Adidas annually produces about 300 million pairs of shoes. In its manufacture are frequently used polymer materials, such as polyurethanes, the production and subsequent disposal may be harmful to the environment. Therefore, Adidas is working on the creation of “green” technologies and materials – so the company recently introduced a limited edition collection of sneakers, which is made from recycled plastic waste collected near Maldives.
The new model uses a biodegradable material Biosteel, developed by the German company AMSilk. It is produced from a web of recombinant proteins. They are obtained by artificial bacteria, into the genome of the spider which has been introduced a gene isolated protein which is isolated and “passed” through the spiral unit simulating spider silk weave structure. The result is a thread that is different from the existing synthetic fibers with ease and is strong enough so that it can be used for the production of sport shoes. According to the company Adidas sneakers Futurecraft Biofabric on average 15 percent lighter shoes made of conventional polymers.
Complete with a new pair of shoes will also come with a bag of solvent protease, an enzyme that cleaves the peptide bond between amino acids in proteins, which allow the owner to “melt” your shoes right at home in the sink with water. The process should be safe and takes less than 36 hours. At the same time, Adidas emphasizes that simple soaking in the rain does not affect the properties of the shoe. However, running is likely to not be fully disposed – according to the description of the strands consists of only Biosteel upper part thereof. What made the sole, the site is not specified.
It is assumed that the model Futurecraft Biofabric will hit the market next year. About how much will cost the novelty, the company did not report.
Adidas is not the first company that offered the use of biodegradable materials for the manufacture of footwear. For example, recently Yang-A Lee (Young-A Lee), a professor at the University of Iowa, created the clothes from a by-product of preparation of Kombucha beverage. To create a fabric which, by its appearance resembles the skin, a scientist uses the fiber pulp tea fungus that feed on vinegar and sugar.
Biodegradable materials may be used not only to create a shoe, but also for weapons. Thus, the American gunsmith developed a “printable” self-loading pistol, a large part of the elements which is made of plastic. The new weapons are the only metal barrel, trigger mechanism and homemade shutter.
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