Sportswear company ASICS announced today the launch of the GEL-LYTE III CM 1.95, a new sneaker produced with a series of low carbon materials, technologies and design details.

According to the company, with a carbon footprint of only 1.95kg of C02e for every pair produced, the GEL-LYTE III CM 1.95 is the lowest CO2e sneakers currently available on the market.

Minako Yoshikawa, Senior General Manager, ASICS Sustainability Division said:

“At ASICS we have long been committed to exploring and testing more sustainable methods through our value chain to reduce our impact on the planet. While the GEL-LYTE III CM 1.95 is a hugely significant milestone on this journey, this is only the beginning.”

ASICS said that the launch follows a 10-year partnership with researchers at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), who assed how to accurately measure the CO2e impact across the entire life cycle of a product. The research led to energy-saving improvements across four phases of the product’s life-cycle: materials, manufacturing, transportation and usage and disposal/recycling.

Randolph Kirchain, Principal Research Scientist, Materials Research Laboratory at MIT, said:

“We are impressed by the ways in which ASICS has refined and extended the methods for assessing product CO2 emissions. ASICS has extended, in both breadth and depth, data collection pertaining to CO2 assessment. We sincerely hope that this study and its findings will encourage other firms to begin the journey to understand the impacts of their products and, therefore, to a more sustainable footwear industry.”

Key material innovations of the GEL-LYTE III CM 1.95 sneaker model include a carbon negative foam and recycled and solution-dyed polyester. ASICS has set a target of sourcing 100% of its polyester from recycled sources by 2030. The shoe also features a new structure utilizing tape that enables less material usage as well as 100% renewable energy usage throughout the manufacturing phase.

Yasuhito Hirota, ASICS CEO said:

“To achieve a sound mind in a sound body, you need a sound earth to move on, after all. The road ahead maybe long but the GEL-LYTE III CM 1.95 is our latest statement of intent on this journey. We hope it can help inspire real positive change in the sports industry on the way to achieving net-zero emissions by 2050.”

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