A sole structure for an article of footwear includes a unitary cushioning component comprising a plurality of scrap foam pieces configured as a plurality of different polyhedron shapes and a resin binder securing the scrap foam pieces to one another. The sole structure may comprise a midsole including an outer shell defining a central cavity. The cushioning component may be disposed in the central cavity as a core of the midsole. A method of manufacturing an article of footwear cutting the scrap foam body into pieces, mixing the pieces with a resin binder, and compression molding the mixed pieces and resin binder in a mold to form a cushioning component of a sole structure of the article of footwear.

A separable footwear article comprising an outsole oriented at a bottom of the footwear and configured for ground contact, the outsole comprising a first material, an upper portion comprising a second material different from the first material, and a welt positioned between the outsole and the upper. The welt is releasably coupled to the outsole with a first thread using a first stitching technique, and releasably coupled to the upper portion with a second thread using a second stitching technique. The outsole, the upper portion, and the welt are configured to be separated upon receipt of a pulling force upon the first thread and the second thread sufficient to remove the first thread and the second thread from the footwear article.

A shoe including an upper, a sole including slots formed in a bottom of the sole, and retention overlay. The sole is removably attached to the shoe upper via the retention overlay, which is provided within the slots formed in the bottom of the sole.

A shoe may include an upper portion constructed from a continuous textile (e.g., a knit textile) that includes multiple regions having different textile properties to improve the performance of the shoe, including durability and comfort. In some cases, the multi-region upper portion may include regions having different thickness and/or flexibility based on a location relative to a wearer's foot to better support the wearer's foot. For example, the multi-region upper portion may include a reinforcement region having a first thickness and a flex region having a second thickness less than the first thickness. As another example, the multi-region upper portion may include a reinforcement region having a first stiffness and a flex region having a second stiffness less than the first stiffness.

A method of manufacturing the foamed shoe material and semi-finished product including the following steps. Step S1: a foamable material is injected into a cavity of a blank mold to solidify, thereby generating a semi-finished product of the shoe material and a runner waste that are unfoamed. The runner waste could be shed for reusing directly as the foamable material without a granulating process. Step S2: the semi-finished product is cooled down and put into a cavity of the foaming mold, and the semi-finished product is evenly foamed in the cavity of the foaming mold to obtain a shoe material wherein the waste generated during the method of manufacturing the foamed shoe material could be effectively reused, and the yield rate of the shoe material thereby enhanced.

In the embodiments, sustainable wearable items are provided. In some embodiments, the sustainable wearable item can include an upper comprising an upper layer including an upper material selected from the group consisting of upcycled apple skin, sustainable satin, a combination of upcycled apple skin and tea bag recycled yarn, recycled polyamide yarn, and a combination of upcycled apple skin and recycled polyamide yarn, a lining including a material selected from the group consisting of upcycled apple skin and upcycled grape skin, and a first adhesive to bind the upper layer and the lining. In some embodiments, the sustainable wearable item can include a bottom comprising an insole including a material selected from the group consisting of upcycled apple skin and upcycled grape skin, an outsole including vegetable tanned leather, and a second adhesive to bind the insole and the outsole.

The present invention teaches a method of making a custom article of footwear. Further, the article of footwear can include a knitted upper and means for cushioning. In addition, the components of the article of footwear can be selected from a wide range of options, and can be easily removed and replaced, as desired.

In example aspects, materials with different colors and/or one or more different characteristics are used for footwear manufacturing. In some aspects, the colors and/or the one or more characteristics of the materials may be obscured with a concealing layer. In other aspects, the concealing layer may include a structural-color element.

An article of footwear and a method of manufacturing are provided. The article comprises an upper fixedly attached to a sole structure. The upper may comprise a wall wherein an inner layer is coupled to an outer layer, such that the inner layer and the outer layer define a closed pocket therebetween. A layer of scrap particulate matter is disposed in the closed pocket, and is at least partially visible through the outer layer, which is formed of a sufficiently transparent material. The sole structure is fabricated from a mixture of discrete pieces of scrap particulate matter and virgin polymer material, such that the discrete pieces of scrap particulate matter are at least partially visible on the outer surface of the sole structure. The sole structure is further substantially covered in a plurality of cavities and a plurality of protrusions, such that the outer sole surface has a crater-like texture.

An article of footwear is disclosed that includes an upper, an outsole, and a midsole. The upper is configured to receive a foot, and the outsole is secured to the upper. The outsole defines a plurality of apertures extending entirely through the outsole. In addition, the outsole has a ground-engaging surface positioned at a first elevation. The midsole is positionable such that a lower surface of the midsole extends into the apertures of the outsole and is exposed by the apertures.