US company develops new sustainable materials
California-based company Plus Compound Technologies claims it has developed a range of sustainable products for use in footwear which are 100% recyclable.
The basis for the statement is the company’s PLUSfoam material, a polymer-based, eco-friendly product which Plus Compound Technologies has claimed could replace for EVA, PU and rubber as the industry standard. PLUS’s goal is to ultimately keep post-manufacturing and post-consumer materials out of landfills, and the company has stated that PLUSfoam outperforms and outlasts products made from traditional foam or rubber materials. “EVA and PU materials are not 100% recyclable,” said Jason Stanson of Plus Compound Technologies. “EVA, for example, is at best only 50% recyclable. Our material is 100% recyclable, which we believe is a step in the right direction.” Since the backgrounds of Mr Stanson and his partner, Brett Ritter, are in the sports and lifestyle markets, their initial focus has been the footwear industry. For spring-summer 2010, Plus teamed up with US footwear manufacturer New Balance to launch its ‘TruEco’ collection of sandals, which they claim was the first major footwear brand collection made from 100% recyclable materials.
