Running shoe companies do their part for the earth
By John Rogers
2007-12-04
Every once in a while, I have the good fortune to be invited to product symposiums by Asics, Brooks and a few of the other running brands to learn about new products and marketing, to participate in giving feedback and network on best practices in the running world. I was at a Brooks symposium in New York City for the New York Marathon recently and was blown away by the effort being made by the running companies to initiate efforts to go green.
You may not know this, but the biggest part of the shoe that adversely affects the environment is the midsole (the white section of your running shoe between the upper and rubber outsole). Current running shoe midsoles can take 1,000 years to biodegrade in a landfill. Runners on average buy about 3.5 pairs of running shoes a year. That is a whole lot of landfill space for the estimated 30 million runners — just in the U.S. alone!
Not that the shoe companies aren’t conscience of the environment. There are currently programs by companies like Nike, which will regrind midsoles and rubber outsoles and use them to build tracks and basketball courts in inner cities. Additionally, athletic shoe companies are moving toward processes that reduce waste, toxic materials and promote the use of environmental-friendly materials. It’s all part of the new “Go Green” movement many of us now see in the market place.
Brooks has taken it a step further with the introduction of its new midsole material called BioMoGo, which will launch in the new Brooks Trance 8 in July 2008. Brooks has added a non-toxic, natural additive to the MoGo midsole compound that encourages anaerobic microbes to munch away once it hits the landfill. BioMoGo’s microbial munch rate is a staggering 50 times faster, biodegrading nutrients into reusable byproducts in 20-22 years. That means that in about 20 years time, Brooks alone will save 29.9 million pounds of landfill waste.
It’s important to note that the jury is still out on the functionality and durability of these new “green” shoes but the shoe companies are on the right environmental path — and it’s about time.
• Maine Running Company is proud to announce its new Running Shoe Recycle Program. Donate your old running shoes and receive $5 off your next purchase. Your shoes will either be donated to Preble Street Resource Center or, if they are in really bad shape, sent to be recycled (reground and used for track and basketball surfaces). So, bring your old shoes in and save a sole!
John Rogers is the owner of Maine Running Company on Forest Avenue in Portland. Send questions or comments to him at jr@mainerunning.com or check out the store’s website at www.mainerunning.com.
You may not know this, but the biggest part of the shoe that adversely affects the environment is the midsole (the white section of your running shoe between the upper and rubber outsole). Current running shoe midsoles can take 1,000 years to biodegrade in a landfill. Runners on average buy about 3.5 pairs of running shoes a year. That is a whole lot of landfill space for the estimated 30 million runners — just in the U.S. alone!
Not that the shoe companies aren’t conscience of the environment. There are currently programs by companies like Nike, which will regrind midsoles and rubber outsoles and use them to build tracks and basketball courts in inner cities. Additionally, athletic shoe companies are moving toward processes that reduce waste, toxic materials and promote the use of environmental-friendly materials. It’s all part of the new “Go Green” movement many of us now see in the market place.
Brooks has taken it a step further with the introduction of its new midsole material called BioMoGo, which will launch in the new Brooks Trance 8 in July 2008. Brooks has added a non-toxic, natural additive to the MoGo midsole compound that encourages anaerobic microbes to munch away once it hits the landfill. BioMoGo’s microbial munch rate is a staggering 50 times faster, biodegrading nutrients into reusable byproducts in 20-22 years. That means that in about 20 years time, Brooks alone will save 29.9 million pounds of landfill waste.
It’s important to note that the jury is still out on the functionality and durability of these new “green” shoes but the shoe companies are on the right environmental path — and it’s about time.
• Maine Running Company is proud to announce its new Running Shoe Recycle Program. Donate your old running shoes and receive $5 off your next purchase. Your shoes will either be donated to Preble Street Resource Center or, if they are in really bad shape, sent to be recycled (reground and used for track and basketball surfaces). So, bring your old shoes in and save a sole!
John Rogers is the owner of Maine Running Company on Forest Avenue in Portland. Send questions or comments to him at jr@mainerunning.com or check out the store’s website at www.mainerunning.com.