At the Fast Company Innovation Festival conference, Kanye West announced that his latest Yeezy sneaker would be made from the algae. He said they would make foam from algae and then the sole for the new Yeezy Foam Runner from that foam.
The rapper also shares that thanks to such an environmentally friendly solution, his company will help “clean waterways to protect wildlife and drinking water.” Additionally, this production method will eliminate the use of fossil fuels (oil, coal, etc.), which is commonly used to make foam.
West added that his company’s headquarters would move to a 4,000-acre ranch in Wyoming, where it will grow its own algae in a hydroponic farm.
“Eco-concerns are intersecting with what we do,” Steven Smith, the head designer at Yeezy, told the audience. “This is just the beginning of the future that Kanye envisioned for us to start working on.”
Adidas (Yeezy’s parent company) always keeps experimenting with eco-friendly designs. In 2015, the company introduced the first performance footwear made entirely of recycled marine plastic waste. Then this year, in April, the brand presented it’s 100% recyclable running shoe called Futurecraft.Loop.
West hasn’t reported when these new algae-based sneakers will be available in stores.
