Cotton + Corn is an initiative developed by the Reebok Future team to create shoes “made from things that grow.” The first release will be a shoe with an upper comprised of organic cotton and a base originating from industrial grown corn (a non-food source).

“This is really just the first step for us”, comemnted Bill McInnis, Head of Reebok Future, adding: “With Cotton + Corn we’re focused on all three phases of the product lifecycle. First, with product development we’re using materials that grow and can be replenished, rather than the petroleum-based materials commonly used today.  Second, when the product hits the market we know our consumers don’t want to sacrifice on how sneakers look and perform. Finally, we care about what happens to the shoes when people are done with them. So, we’ve focused on plant-based materials such as corn and cotton at the beginning, and compostability in the end.”

Ultimately the company’s goal is to create a broad selection of bio-based footwear that can be composted after use, a kind of “from dust to dust.”

For the Cotton + Corn initiative Reebok partnered with DuPont Tate & Lyle Bio Products, a leading manufacturer of high-performance bio-based solutions. DuPont Tate & Lyle has developed Susterra propanediol, a pure, petroleum-free, non-toxic, 100% USDA certified bio-based product, derived from field corn. Susterra propanediol is used to create the sole of the Cotton + Corn shoes.

The Reebok Future team is Reebok’s innovation department dedicated to creating new technologies, ideas, techniques and prototypes.