AI Circular Design for Footwear
“Shoes aren’t shirts!” - and the software should reflect that
Best foot forward...
Footwear is not just apparel - it’s engineering.
Unlike shirts or pants, shoes must endure extreme wear, support biomechanics, and meet strict safety standards.
Different factories, different materials, different processes. Shoe manufacturing is a world apart from textiles, requiring specialised machinery, adhesives, and craftsmanship.
Regulations and testing go far beyond fashion. From slip resistance to impact protection, footwear must pass rigorous performance standards that standard garments never face.
Shoes serve function first. Whether for athletics, work, or casual wear, footwear must provide support, durability, and comfort in ways that clothing never does.
THE PROBLEM WITH SHOE STANDARDS
The fashion industry’s push for sustainability often treats all products the same. But the reality is simple: shoes aren’t shirts.
Footwear and apparel have vastly different material compositions, production methods, performance requirements, and end-of-life challenges. One-size-fits-all sustainability standards fail to account for these critical differences, leading to ineffective policies and misguided initiatives.
If over 80% of fashion’s environmental impact comes from materials and manufacturing, then failing to differentiate between clothing and shoes is a major oversight. Footwear consists of 10 times the materials and components of a garment, often requiring over 100 hand touches in production. Manufacturing is far more complex, involving adhesives, reinforcements, molded components, and multiple material types—many of which are essential for durability and safety.
Circular design principles that work for clothing simply don’t translate to shoes without thoughtful adaptation.
Yet, sustainability frameworks continue to lump footwear under generic “fashion” policies. This has led to impractical regulations, poor recycling infrastructure, and companies forced to focus on irrelevant targets that don’t address their actual environmental footprint.
WHY THE SOLUTION IS CIRCKIT
A Technology Platform Built for Footwear
CircKit understands the nuances of footwear and provides AI-powered tools that help brands achieve true circularity, addressing footwear-specific challenges from design to end-of-life. Unlike generic sustainability solutions, CircKit enables footwear brands to:
Engineer circularity from the start - Simulate materials, durability, and design choices that optimise for sustainability without sacrificing performance.
Navigate complex materials - With footwear requiring diverse materials like TPE, TPR, TPU, EVA, high GSM leather, and reinforcements, CircKit’s design modules allow designers to evaluate sustainable materials and components that can help meet reduction targets and circularity goals.
Automate compliance & reporting - Ensure regulations like EPR and digital product passports reflect the realities of footwear, reducing manual work and compliance risks.
Optimise end-of-life strategies – Footwear can’t be recycled like clothing. CircKit provides insights into disassembly, material recovery, and take-back schemes and end-of-life pathways tailored for shoes.
FOOTWEAR NEEDS ITS OWN CIRCULARITY STANDARDS
Sustainability efforts must be product-specific. Just as planes and trains share an industry but require different regulations, so too must shoes and apparel be treated separately. CircKit ensures brands, policymakers, and researchers can take an intelligent, category-specific approach to sustainability, enabling real-world impact instead of theoretical ‘cookie cutter’ solutions which aren’t fit for purpose.
It’s time to right-size sustainability efforts and build standards that actually work for footwear. CircKit is leading this charge - because circular footwear isn’t just possible, it’s necessary.
Discover what CircKit can do for your brand
Join the circular footwear revolution and position your brand for sustainable success.
