Adidas Unveils 2018 3d Print Plans
adidas has announced it plans to 3D print 100,000 shoes this year as it continues to look into new materials and production methods.
CEO Kasper Rorsted has said the company reached its target to sell one million pairs of the brand’s sustainable Parley for the Oceans collaborations.
He added that the company is now committed to selling the 3D printed shoes through its partnership with manufacturing company Carbon, as it partners with companies that are using recycled materials and manufacturing.
“We don’t believe buying an extra brand will create value for us. But what we’ve done is, for instance, buying an equity share in a U.S. company called 3D Carbon. That allows us to do a 3D-printed shoe and bring a customized shoe into the market,” Rorsted told CNBC. “We will this year sell 100,000 completely 3D printed shoes and that’s where we invest money, in companies that have a technology that we need or companies that have materials that are unique, like Parley for the Oceans, where we last year sold 1,000,000 shoes made out of ocean plastic.”
adidas will increase its production of the Parley for the Oceans range, aiming for five million units. The partnership was established in 2015 to raise awareness about ocean pollution and has created products including trainers and swimwear, as well as football kits.
Its first product with Carbon was the 3D printed Futurecraft 4D trainer. The Futurecraft 4D features a mid-sole that has been produced using a method called Continuous Liquid Interface Production, a process created by the 3D printing startup Carbon. The method revolves around using ultraviolet light to solidify the shape of a design that’s come from liquid polymer resin.
