ASICS has unveiled the Nimbus Mirai, a performance running shoe designed to be remade at the end of its life. ASICS adds that this is… ‘all without compromising the quality or performance you would expect from a GEL-NIMBUS product.’
In Japanese, the word ‘Mirai’ translates to ‘future’, and the new shoes aim to reflect ASICS’ commitment to make a positive impact on future generations of runners… ‘paying them a kindness in advance.’
Designed with recycling in mind, the Nimbus Mirai running shoe is launching with a new returns program, encouraging runners to give back the shoes at the end of their use to support their journey towards circularity.
The Nimbus Mirai represents another important step in ASICS’ mission to achieve net-zero carbon emissions as a business by 2050, hot on the heels of its GEL-LYTE III CM 1.95 shoe, which saw ASICS create ‘the lightest CO2e emitting sneaker on the market’ last year.
The new Nimbus Mirai is billed as one of the most advanced shoes ASICS has ever made. Designed with uniform polyester material, the entire upper has no overlays, meaning the shoe can be sorted to be placed under a recycling process when the time comes.
A special type of original ASICS-created glue also promotes an easier recycling process, providing a durable bond that can be put through its paces but can also be pulled apart for its next lifecycle. In fact, the whole shoe has been designed for the upper to be easily detachable from the sole when the time comes.
At this point, the entirety of the upper will go through the recycling process. ASICS has confirmed through testing that 87.3% of the upper material, which underwent the recycling process, can be retrieved as a new polyester material ready to be remade to run again.
Additionally, the shoe features an FF Blast Plus Eco midsole that delivers ‘cloud-like cushioning’ and is made from approximately 24% renewable sources such as leftovers from sugar cane processing.
As part of its circular ambition for the Nimbus Mirai shoe as a whole, in the future, ASICS is also working with its partners to ensure the shoe’s sole also has a second life as part of the recycling process.
For a long time, ASICS notes that shoes have been designed with single use in mind. However, the company points to the scale of the roughly 23.9 billion shoes as being simply not sustainable.
In an ASICS first, runners can return the Nimbus Mirai at ASICS stores or through shipping in a number of markets around the world, including ASICS retail stores in the UK, Netherlands and France, to give their shoes new life and purchase their next pair.
Fumitaka Kamifukumoto, project leader of the Nimbus Mirai’s product development at ASICS said “The announcement of Nimbus Mirai is a proud moment for us and an important milestone in our ambition to be a net-zero carbon emission business by 2050.
“It has remained our focus not to compromise the product’s performance at all, so that runners can wear the shoe as they would any other from ASICS – protected and supported as they replenish their body and mind.
“We ask runners to take an extra step with this shoe, however, and bring it back to us once they have finished with it. That way, we can continue our mission towards creating a sound Earth for future generations.”
The ASICS Nimbus Mirai running shoe is available for men and women from ASICS retail and online stores, for £180 / €200 / US$180.
