OrthoLite claims first footwear circular foam material solution

The company announces a new partnership to develop innovative products.

Performance and comfort insoles and footwear materials solutions producer OrthoLite has announced an exclusive partnership with the Novamont company, which develops, produces and eco-designs biodegradable and compostable bioplastics and biochemicals. This tie-up has led to the creation of ‘OrthoLite Cirql’ – said to be the world’s first ‘circular foam material solution’ for footwear.

The patented Cirql foam represents a combination of OrthoLite’s 26 years of expertise and innovation in foaming polymers and Novamont’s bio-based, compostable and recyclable material. This has produced what is reportedly the first technology capable of greatly reducing the high impact of the manufacturing process with multiple end-of-life disposal options.

“We are excited to be partnering with Novamont to escalate scalable solutions to drive positive change in the global footwear industry,” said Glenn Barrett, OrthoLite’s founder and chief executive.

Novamont’s founder and CEO, Catia Bastioli, added: “Our philosophy has always been to avoid the problems of pollutant accumulation in the environment. The fruitful collaboration with OrthoLite, a company that is also committed in finding solutions and not just products, allows us to bring our approach to the footwear industry for the first time.”

According to OrthoLite, its Cirql product is free from ‘forever chemicals’, and is responsibly sourced from non-GMO traditional vegetable raw materials derived from plants, plus synthetic biodegradable materials. The material is marketed as able to be returned to the production cycle by advanced low-energy chemical recycling, as well as being fully compostable through selected industrial methods and processors. OrthoLite also claims that Cirql will help to avoid the accumulation of persistent microplastics, as its particles biodegrade in a similar way to cellulose and other naturally-occurring polymers.

The photograph above shows OrthoLite’s Glenn Barrett with Catia Bastioli of Novamont.

Publishing Data

This article was originally published on page 34 of the May 2023 issue of SATRA Bulletin.

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