ASICS has announced that it will launch a new line of running and SportStyle shoes that use recycled polyester made from PET bottles in shoe upper material. The rollout at stores worldwide and online will begin from April 24. Called the Edo Era Tribute Pack, the new collection underscores ASICS’ sustainability credentials by honoring the eco-friendly practices of Edo (present day Tokyo) from the 17th to 19th centuries. It was during that period that reusing and recycling was integral to life in Japan. People saw everything as a valuable resource, from old clothes and used paper to worn-out pans and broken ceramic items and even candle wax drippings. The new offerings recall the eco-centric self-sufficiency ethos of bygone times in Tokyo, with 2021 seeing the eyes of the world turning to the city for the world’s biggest sporting event. The range is in keeping with ASICS’ commitment to sustainability in various aspects of its business. The uppers of the collection’s six performance running shoe models and four SportStyle offerings employ recycled polyester fibers made from a total of around 300,000 PET bottles. These items represent the first stage of an ASICS drive to switch to 100% recycled polyester fibers in all of its uppers by 2030 to help combat climate change. The collection uses 100% recycled paper shoe boxes with approx.10% less material than ASICS’ standard designs and sees a switch from oil-based inks to water-based ones – halving ink usage. These sustainable shoe boxes will expand sequentially from July 2020. The boxes in the scope of these changes will be switched in 2021, thereby cutting ASICS’ annual CO2 emissions by approx. 1,200 metric tons.

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