To celebrate OrthoLite’s 25-year anniversary, we launched an incredibly important subsidiary, Cirql, in March of 2022. Our vision is to lead the global footwear industry toward circularity and a more sustainable future by building footwear materials solutions for two ends of life – launching products that are either fully recyclable or compostable. Importantly, we want our solutions to be attainable to footwear brands of all sizes.
After more than two years of development, we launched our first physical product: Cirql rTPU30. Here’s what it is, at a glance:
- Fully recyclable super critically foamed shoe midsole material (chemical-free foaming)
Made from a blend of GRS-certified 30% recycled post-consumer waste (clear cell phone cases) and - 70% virgin TPU
- Patented
- Able to be manufactured at scale
- Best for use in comfort, golf, recovery and other lifestyle shoe applications
- Available as a midsole or with a co-molded outsole for a fully recyclable bottom unit.
We like to think of rTPU30 as an “ingredient” for a footwear developer committed to using less-impactful products in the design of a shoe. Footwear developers need more options for sustainable footwear materials and components, and we are committed to bringing those solutions to market.
To learn more about this new product from Cirql, we invited Matt Priest, President & CEO of the Footwear Distributors and Retailers of America (FDRA), to the CIrql Center of Excellence in Vietnam to go behind the scenes with our team to talk about both how the product is made, and more about Cirql rTPU30 itself.
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