Swiss sports brand On today announces a move away from petroleum-based resources by creating a new foam material called CleanCloud
On is convinced that innovation is pivotal to cutting greenhouse gas emissions. CleanCloud
“It’s a win-win situation: we are capturing emissions before they pollute our atmosphere and are at the same time moving away from fossil-based materials,” explains Caspar Coppetti, Co-Founder and Executive Co-Chairman of On. “Innovation is at the heart of our brand, and after four years of intense research, we are very proud to announce this supply chain coalition with our world-class partners LanzaTech and Borealis.”
CleanCloud
“We are showing the world what is possible when we rethink how we source, use and dispose of carbon,” says Jennifer Holmgren, CEO of LanzaTech. “By converting pollution to products, we can see that someday everything in our daily lives will come from recycled carbon. We are excited to be on this journey with On and Borealis to bend the carbon curve, keep our skies blue, and create a sustainable future for all.”
Borealis is a leading provider of advanced, circular and renewable plastic solutions and essential in creating high-performance, easy-to-process EVA foam for CleanCloud ambition.
Lucrèce Foufopoulos, Borealis Executive Vice President Polyolefins, Innovation & Circular Economy Solutions: “Borealis is thrilled to be part of the unique, first-of-its-kind CleanCloud
This is how it works: Technology from LanzaTech captures carbon monoxide emitted from industrial sources like steel mills or emissions from landfill sites before being released into the atmosphere. Once captured, these emissions enter a patented fermentation process. Thanks to specially selected bacteria, the carbon rich gas ferments naturally and is converted to liquid ethanol by the bacteria. This natural fermentation process is similar to that of conventional alcohol production – e.g., beer brewing. The ethanol is then dehydrated to create ethylene, which is then polymerized by Borealis to become EVA (a copolymer of ethylene vinyl acetate) – the versatile and lightweight material that On starts working with to create a performance foam for shoes.
This is the first major announcement from Swiss brand On following its successful public listing at the New York Stock Exchange in mid-September. On is known for its innovation in the running shoe industry and has become a proven pioneer in sustainable material innovation.
The overall goal is to exchange all bottom units from On shoes currently made from EVA with CleanCloud
Learn more about On’s sustainability journey in the “ON Impact Progress Report”.
High-res images are available via this link.
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