ASICS Institute of Sport Science | Episode 3 | Sustainability

Показать описание

Junichiro Tateishi of the Footwear Function Research Department at ASICS Institute of Sport Science asks can we achieve both sustainability and athletic performance in ASICS shoes? His mission is to leave future generations with a better environment for sports. To understand that Junichiro answers a few key questions like: What is key in ASICS’ drive for sustainability and sustainable shoes? When it comes to sustainability, what’s key for ASICS is achieving an equally high level of environmental and athletic performance. With ecofriendly materials that improve environmental performance such as plant-based materials and others like cellulose nanofibers— the R&D is in the early stages and there is a lot of opportunity around that. Research on using these materials and their application to products is only just getting underway as well. If ASICS is imaginative in its approach, Junichiro believes we can be a sustainable shoe brand. Cellulose nanofiber foam material has an excellent performance compared to conventional materials. It’s stronger, lighter and more durable and foam made with cellulose nanofiber is about 55% lighter, 20% stronger and 12% more durable when it’s compared to conventional EVA foam. This means it requires less energy for manufacturing and for transport. If the final product weighs less, you need less energy to transport it. These are a few of the reasons why we should focus our technologies on making lightweight materials and on reducing product weight.
ASICS Institute of Sport Science has technologies not just to research and develop new materials, but to manufacture them and apply them to the products. The ASICS research management system is fully integrated and it covers everything from shoe materials to product performance and quality control. The system itself is just one outcome of the research. Another is leaving a better environment for sports to future generations and still another is manufacturing products while being aware of their environmental impact. As Junichiro and ASICS see it, the mission is to leave future generations with a better environment for sport.