Cushions from old running shoes: Karimoku and ASICS take their seating global
Japanese furniture maker Karimoku New Standard fills a sofa and lounge chair with foam from crushed ASICS shoes. After a launch in Japan, the range is now being released worldwide.
Graphic: TERRA WORLD NEWS (own graphic based on the sources listed)
Karimoku New Standard, a sub-brand of Japanese furniture maker Karimoku, has announced the global release of a collaboration with sportswear company ASICS. The range was first introduced in Japan earlier this year. Two existing designs from the brand – the Castor Lobby Sofa and the Polar Lounge Chair – receive new cushioning. Their silhouettes are unchanged, and an embroidered tag marks the collaboration. The partners have not announced further pieces or a schedule.
The cushioning comes from ASICS shoes that would otherwise have been thrown away: deadstock and sample pairs. The shoes are dismantled, sorted and crushed to recover EVA (ethylene vinyl acetate) foam, the material used in midsoles, outsoles and footbeds. The foam is blended with cotton and combined with a three-millimetre condensed foam sheet to form a "hybrid structure". ASICS already uses the same process for its upcycled Neocurve trainers.
The idea emerged when Karimoku New Standard was designing seating for meeting rooms in ASICS' Tokyo office. The brand said it prototyped repeatedly, including in sessions drawing on ASICS' sports science expertise. The aim, it said, was not merely to reuse material for sustainability reasons but to turn it into a functional added value. No prices or production figures were given.