German designer Emilie Burfeind has developed a sock sneaker with a mushroom mycelium sole and a knitted upper made from canine hair that was shed while grooming and would otherwise have been discarded.
The Sneature trainer consists of only three bio-based, renewable materials, allowing it to be either taken apart and recycled or industrially composted at the end of its life.
In comparison, traditional trainers are generally made from around eight to 12 different components such as nylon fabric and ethylene-vinyl acetate (EVA) foam ? many of which are petroleum-based and would survive in landfills for up to 1,000 years.
Sneature's upper is made from 3D-knitted dog hair
"Because of their complicated structure and the different materials they are made of, it's almost impossible to disassemble and recycle conventional sneakers," Burfeind told Dezeen. "So I wanted to design a sneaker that is made of as few components as possible and remains biodegradable after use."
The trainer consists of only three bio-based materials
The trainer has no laces and largely consists of one seamless sock, made from dog hair that was crowdsourced from dog owners by Berlin start-up Modus Intarsia.
This hair is spun into a high-quality yarn known as Chiengora, which is 42 per cent better at retaining heat than sheep's wool and was historically used by indigenous societies on America's West Coast.
The sole consists of a mycelium composite
"In Germany alone, 80 tonnes of t...