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From Soy Shoes to Corn Clothes
From Soy Shoes to Corn Clothes
Bio-based materials make apparel more sustainable
By Darcy Maulsby
The next time you buy athletic wear or sneakers, you might be purchasing farm-focused fashion, thanks to bio-based fabrics and other innovative materials made from soybeans and corn.
Just ask April Hemmes, whose Skechers sneakers feature Goodyear Performance Outsoles made with soybean oil. “Never did I think I’d be walking on soybeans someday,” says Hemmes, a farmer near Hampton. “These shoes are really comfortable.”
The rubber meets the road with soy oil, which is sustainable and renewable. Goodyear’s research revealed that a special polymer made from soybean oil can improve tire flexibility across temperatures and enhance traction in rainy and snowy weather conditions.
Sketchers thought this same technology could deliver more grip, stability and durability for select models of its running shoes. Trials with the technology found that soy-based outsoles dramatically improved shoes’ traction across a wide range of temperatures and conditions. The outsoles’ durability improved, as well.
Since 2020, U.S. soy has been used in various lines of Skechers footwear, thanks to its collaboration with The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company. Sketchers initially launched three running shoes from its Go Run collection. Styles featuring Goodyear Performance Outsoles include a wider assortment of sneakers and other footwear for adults and kids.
“Sustainability is only one of the many great attributes of soy-based rubber,” says Hemmes, an Iowa Soybean Association director and United Soybean Board director. “When soybean oil replaces petroleumbased materials, it provides a renewable product for consumers and a unique market opportunity for U.S. soybean farmers.”
Iowa-Grown Solutions Lower Companies’ Environmental Footprint
The demand for renewable, sustainable materials in fashion continues to skyrocket, especially as major manufacturers seek ways to reduce their environmental footprint.
“More companies in the footwear and apparel industries want to lower their carbon intensity (CI) score and are looking to use renewable materials in their products,” says Alex Buck, Ph.D., director of industrial innovation with Iowa Corn.
The CI score measures greenhouse gas emissions associated with producing, distributing and consuming specific products. For years, Iowa corn farmers have funded research through Iowa Corn to find new uses for their product. “We’ve studied ways to turn corn into bioplastics that can replace materials made with petrochemicals,” Buck says.
In the past six years, many major brands have debuted athletic shoes with cornbased components. In 2017, sportswear manufacturer Reebok made headlines when it announced its first sports shoe made with 75% plant-based fibers. More shoe companies have followed in its footsteps. Veja, a company that mixes social projects, economic justice and ecological materials, offers a corn fauxleather sneaker in which the canvas base has been waxed using a solution made from 50% corn waste from the food industry. These Veja shoes maintain a leather-like appearance and offer comfort and weather resistance without sacrificing durability or quality.
Saucony, a company that touts performance in its running shoes, is also replacing materials like nylon, polyester and polyurethane with plant-based components to reduce reliance on fossil fuels. Saucony’s Triumph RFG running shoe incorporates plant-based dyes in the upper, along with a 55% corn-based PWRRUN BIO+™ midsole foam.
Lululemon Loves Corn
Clothing companies are also taking a new approach to sustainability and looking to farmers to help provide solutions.
Since the 2000s, fashion production has doubled, and it will likely triple by 2050, according to the American Chemical Society. However, every year, people in the U.S. throw out more than 34 billion pounds of used textiles, according to the Boston University 2022 report: The Aftermath of Fast Fashion. Divided across the population, that’s more than 100 pounds of textile waste per person each year.
Lululemon Athletica Inc. is working with Iowa corn growers to find a better way. While nylon derived from oil makes up more than half of the synthetic fabrics Lululemon uses, the British Columbia-based company aims to replace the majority of oil-based nylon with plant-based versions by 2030, according to a recent Wall Street Journal article.
Lululemon’s push into biomaterials is part of a goal to manufacture all of its products with sustainable materials by the end of the decade. The company has a multi-year collaboration with sustainable materials leader Genomatica (Geno), which uses biotechnology and fermentation to convert plantbased materials into widely used chemical building blocks, like those used to make nylon and spandex. A key corn-based biochemical used to make spandex is 1,4-butanediol (BDO).
Qore, a joint venture between Cargill and the German firm Helm, has commercialized this technology. “Qore is building a corn-sugar wet mill near Eddyville, Iowa, to make BDO,” says Buck, who noted that the plant will utilize 10 million bushel equivalents of corn per year after it’s completed in late 2024. “This corn-based product can be used to make the spandex in Lululemon clothing.”
In October, Lululemon leaders invited Iowa Corn to share this story at Textile Exchange 2023 in London, England. The event attracted major apparel manufacturers, including Patagonia.
“Textile Exchange is a certification organization that supports the fashion and textile industry to authenticate their sustainability claims,” Buck says. “We received a great response as we continue to expand the conversation about bio-based synthetic fibers and bring the farmer’s perspective of sustainability and data tracking to the table.”
