As part of BASF’s partnership with ultramarathon and long-distance shoe specialist Mount to Coast, a new sole for long-distance runners has been developed. The Circlecell midsole is the first result of the collaboration. This is based on the new biopolymer Ecoflex BMB and, according to BASF, is 90% more durable, while the same energy return can be guaranteed as midsoles made of polyether block amide (PEBA). When producing the Ecoflex BMB midsole, fossil raw materials are initially replaced by renewable raw materials. These are obtained from organic waste and residual biomass and allocated to Ecoflex using a mass balance approach that is certified according to Redcert2 and ISCC Plus. According to internal testing, Ecoflex BMB outperforms other midsole materials in terms of density and rebound.
“We are committed to developing shoes with sustainable materials and innovative processes without neglecting the specific performance needs of ultrarunners,” says Yeti Zhang, head of product development at Mount to Coast. “”BASF is an important partner for our product development team as we look for ways to balance technical performance and sustainability. BASF’s creativity in transferring mature technologies from one industry to another, such as the footwear industry, is inspiring. This is in line with our goals of offering runners new solutions. We look forward to continuing to work with a world-renowned company that is advancing the development of biopolymers.”
Marcel Philipp Barth, Head of Global Business Management Biopolymers at BASF, adds: “Since 1998, when Ecoflex was introduced to the plastics market, customers in many different industries have known and appreciated the consistently high quality and performance of Ecoflex as well as the sustainability benefits it brings to them products. That’s why we’re bringing our circular economy and renewable raw materials expertise into new application areas to inspire customers to think about new applications for our biopolymers. We look forward to continuing this journey with Mount to Coast in the footwear industry: Mount to Coast can rely on our local application support and our ambition to continually improve our globally available footwear materials.”
