Reebok is planning to launch plant-based footwear later this year...

Reebok is planning to launch plant-based footwear later this year through its “Cotton + Corn” initiative. The first release will be a shoe featuring an upper comprised of organic cotton and a base originating from industrially grown corn. The Cotton + Corn initiative has been developed by the Reebok Future team, Reebok's innovation department dedicated to creating new technologies, techniques and prototypes. The aim of the Cotton + Corn initiative is to create shoes “made from things that grow,” and bio-based shoes that can be composted after use. For this initiative, the sports brand has partnered with DuPont Tate & Lyle Bio Products, a producer of bio-based solutions. Its Susterra propanediol, derived from field corn, is used to make the sole of the Cotton + Corn shoes. The Susterra propanediol is a petroleum-free product, 100% certified as a bio-based product by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).