Innovation

The ON Cloudneo shoe is one of the current bestselling products for the company. This high-performance running shoe is made with 100% recyclable, bio-based materials for a $29 monthly subscription. While mitigating the company’s environmental impact, the shoe is agile, light, and responsive.

This innovation came about as ON realized the problem of severe excess waste, specifically from running shoes. Jason also mentioned that the current sportswear industry comes with significant contamination of the environment, and ON’s purpose was to “make sure that there was less of that.” ON stays true to its belief in being a sustainable organization and promoting regenerative, circular sustainability as a core value. When asked about other companies advocating for sustainability but resorting to cheap materials, Jason stated, "cheap was not sustainable, reusable is sustainable.”

Based on the discussion, ON’s mission to make sportswear more sustainable was evident in its product mix. In regular cases, a single running shoe could have up to 40 individual components that need to be thrown away. In ON’s case, products like the Cyclon-T and the Cloudneo were intentionally designed with the objective of circularity, reusing, and recycling. The unique consumer engagement-driven approach toward creating recyclable shoes and tees is what makes ON special. The footwear industry is inherently prone to wastage and negative environmental outcomes, but Jason made it clear that ON is taking steps in the right direction to change that in the long run.

Inspiration

ON is an elite multinational sportswear brand that specializes in meeting the needs of professional track athletes. The organization already has 10 offices all over the world with 47 different languages spoken; ON recently launched its 33rd retail store. Their sponsored athletes are those of world champion status and record breakers. Their legacy transcends track and field, however, as they also design clothing and accessories for several other sports. But what sets ON apart from other Goliaths in the sportswear industry is that they are dedicated to setting new trends within their industry, even going against the grain compared to many of their competitors. They are constantly looking for ways to innovate their products, not only to make their shoes even more ideal for athletes but to make their shoes sustainable overall. ON is dedicated to regenerative sustainability and circular production.

The discussion with Jason, a representative from ON Sustainability, was a learning experience and contained several important insights. “Reuse old products to create new ones” is what Jason had to say when asked about the core value proposition that ON has to offer. ON is a high-performance sportswear company, but something that sets apart ON from competitors is that ON designs footwear, apparel, and accessories that are meant to be recycled and reused. ON’s mission of igniting the human spirit through movement stands out as well, and they are keen on expanding its sustainability-driven agenda globally.

Circularity is certainly the defining brand value for ON. During the video meeting, the representative mentioned how ON strived to create a self-sufficient process without having to hinder the environment constantly through waste and carbon emissions.

Overall impact

The overall impact of this innovation is less wastage in the athletic footwear industry. ON has created a fantastic new methodology that has the potential to reshape the entire industry and how they view their relationship with their customers. Typically, serious runners throw away shoes after a couple of months, only to buy brand new ones that will suffer a similar fate. That is a linear buildup of waste over time.

On the contrary, ON’s regenerative Cloudneo shoe ensures a circular production model, where the shoe never sees a landfill. This will move athletic shoe companies to care more than whether or not their box is recyclable, but whether or not the shoes themselves are recyclable.

Business benefit

The short-term effects of this innovation include immediate increased revenue for ON as this new product quickly gained traction. Currently, this shoe is one of the company’s most popular products proven by the demand by customers. It has served as a promising pilot program, especially for such a new and applicable technology. The regenerative technology at hand is appealing to consumers who are concerned about their carbon footprint and looking for ways to cut back on waste. The product’s success is largely due to both its low upfront payment and the nature of its subscription business model.

Long term, this will allow ON to further enhance this specific innovation with more funding behind it, to refine the production process, to make an even better shoe, and to apply this circular regenerative process to their various other products in the mix as well.

Social and environmental benefit

An additional long-term factor to note is the fact that this innovation will directly result in less waste from ON, as the shoe itself doesn’t contain materials that will be wasted. This is because the consumer will never need to throw away their shoes after they’ve reached a salvage value; instead, the consumer simply returns it to ON, who recycles the same shoe into a brand new shoe and ships it back to the same consumer, powered by a monthly subscription model.

We can also expect others in the industry to become inspired by the early success of this innovation. Industry leaders should learn and adapt based on ON’s revelation of their regenerative technology and how popular it is amongst athletes. Jason was vocal about how other manufacturers could follow suit as it would lead to lesser wastage of resources all around; he said, “…we hope this trend is followed by other companies out there.” When asked about other companies that greenwashed by exaggerating their sustainability claims, Jason mentioned, “Cheap is not sustainable, sustainable is reusable.”

Interview

Jason T, Representative for Sustainability Projects