Lubrizol aims at circular economy with TPU footwear solutions

CLEVELAND—Lubrizol Corp.'s Engineered Polymers business has built a portfolio of advanced polymers to provide footwear producers with the ability to create a nearly 100 percent thermoplastic polyurethane shoe.

Citing figures from the U.S. Department of the Interrior, Lubrizol noted the impact of a fully recyclable shoe. Americans, the company said, throw away 300 million pairs of shoes, many of which take between 30 and 40 years to fully decompose."The advantage of a 100 percent TPU shoe is that at the end of the shoe's wear cycle it can be re-grinded and then reformed into a new shoe, therefore extending the life of the product and material," Justin Park, Lubrizol's global market segment manager for performance footwear said in a statement.

Lubrizol claims that a recyclable shoe made with its TPU materials would not compromise performance and would be recyclable in places where standard recycling programs supporting those materials are available.

One advantage to the TPU portfolio for footwear applications is that it provides customer with a single solution provider, Lubrizol said. Further, scraps are able to be reused which helps to reduce unused material in the manufacturing process.

Technologies involved in a TPU shoe include Esdex TPU for upper yarns, BounCell-X thermoplastic foam for cushioning, Estane TRX TPU for rubber outsoles, Pearlthane Eco TPU, Estane 3D TPU and Pearlbond TPU for adhesives.