A method of reclaiming used tennis balls and transforming the material reclaimed from the tennis balls into soles for footwear. This multi-step process requires acquiring used tennis balls, grinding the tennis balls into ground rubber bits (usable elements) and tennis ball “fuzz” (unusable elements). The rubber and fuzz are passed through a screen which allows the rubber bits to exit the screen but retains the fuzz. The rubber is then mixed with an H.sub.2O and Polyurethane mixture to form a rubber mixture. This mixture is then pressed into a shape using a mold, cured, and then used to manufacture footwear.

A footwear article is provided herein. The footwear article may include a sole coupled to a cord structure. The cord structure may include interconnected bights in a vamp cord and a rand cord forming a loop line extending along at least a portion of the footwear article.

Process for obtaining ecological footwear using recycled or waste organic materials for the production thereof, particularly materials such as sargassum, coffee waste, and agave bagasse and using solvent-free water-based adhesives, therefore friendly to atmosphere. The process includes assembling the footwear with woven fabrics and non-woven polyester fabrics obtained from fibers that are produced with bottle flakes and postindustrial recycled material of the same polymer, in addition to including the thread and laces made with filaments obtained from the same recycled nature, and incorporating the sole and details with a percentage of recycled polyester plastic bottles, sargassum, coffee waste, and pulverized agave gabazo used as an inert load, so the footwear presented has a recycled polyester content, Sargassum, coffee residues and agave gabazo between 5 and 90% in weigh.

Process for obtaining ecological footwear using recycled or waste organic materials for the production thereof, particularly materials such as sargassum, coffee waste, and agave bagasse and using solvent-free water-based adhesives, therefore friendly to atmosphere. The process includes assembling the footwear with woven fabrics and non-woven polyester fabrics obtained from fibers that are produced with bottle flakes and postindustrial recycled material of the same polymer, in addition to including the thread and laces made with filaments obtained from the same recycled nature, and incorporating the sole and details with a percentage of recycled polyester plastic bottles, sargassum, coffee waste, and pulverized agave gabazo used as an inert load, so the footwear presented has a recycled polyester content, Sargassum, coffee residues and agave gabazo between 5 and 90% in weigh.

An environmentally friendly shoe material and method of manufacturing the same is disclosed, wherein the method includes: mixing scraps and a foaming material to provide a shoe material mixture, the scraps including bottle scraps formed by crushing plastic bottles; putting the shoe material mixture into a mold and compression molding the shoe material mixture into the environmentally friendly shoe material; and separating the environmentally friendly shoe material from the mold. In this way, the environmentally friendly shoe material may not only maintain its due function, but also take environmental protection into account.

A footwear including an outsole portion; an insole portion, wherein an upper surface area of the midsole portion being operable for contacting a wearer's foot; a midsole section, the midsole section is disposed between the outsole portion and upper or strap portion, wherein the midsole section is configured to be operable for absorbing a shock imposed on the footwear; a predetermined amount of fluid; a fluid compartment disposed in the midsole section, wherein the fluid compartment is configured to house the predetermined amount of fluid, in which a perimeter area around the fluid-filled compartment comprises a translucent or clear material, and wherein the housed fluid can be seen or observed through the compartment; and in which an upper surface area of the fluid-filled compartment that is into engagement with a top layer of the midsole portion comprises a pliable material that is configured to stretch under pressure.

A footwear including an outsole portion; an insole portion, wherein an upper surface area of the midsole portion being operable for contacting a wearer's foot; a midsole section, the midsole section is disposed between the outsole portion and upper or strap portion, wherein the midsole section is configured to be operable for absorbing a shock imposed on the footwear; a predetermined amount of fluid; a fluid compartment disposed in the midsole section, wherein the fluid compartment is configured to house the predetermined amount of fluid, in which a perimeter area around the fluid-filled compartment comprises a translucent or clear material, and wherein the housed fluid can be seen or observed through the compartment; and in which an upper surface area of the fluid-filled compartment that is into engagement with a top layer of the midsole portion comprises a pliable material that is configured to stretch under pressure.

Presented are manufacturing systems, methods, and devices for forming footwear using scrap or waste plastic materials. A method for manufacturing an article of footwear, such as an athletic shoe, begins with receiving a batch of recycled plastic, which may include thermoplastic elastomers or ethylene-vinyl acetate, and grinding the batch of recycled plastic material. The ground recycled material is processed, for example, by adding a foaming agent that activates at elevated temperatures. The processed recycled material is placed into the internal cavity of a final mold that is shaped like a segment of the footwear, such as a unitary sole structure. To form the footwear segment, the processed recycled material is heated past the threshold activation temperature of the foaming agent such that the foaming agent causes the recycled material to expand and fill the internal cavity of the final mold. The formed footwear segment is then extracted from the mold.

Presented are manufacturing systems, methods, and devices for forming footwear using scrap or waste plastic materials. A method for manufacturing an article of footwear, such as an athletic shoe, begins with receiving a batch of recycled plastic, which may include thermoplastic elastomers or ethylene-vinyl acetate, and grinding the batch of recycled plastic material. The ground recycled material is processed, for example, by adding a foaming agent that activates at elevated temperatures. The processed recycled material is placed into the internal cavity of a final mold that is shaped like a segment of the footwear, such as a unitary sole structure. To form the footwear segment, the processed recycled material is heated past the threshold activation temperature of the foaming agent such that the foaming agent causes the recycled material to expand and fill the internal cavity of the final mold. The formed footwear segment is then extracted from the mold.

An article of footwear and a method of manufacturing the same are provided. The article comprises an upper fixedly attached to a sole structure. The upper may comprise a wall including an inner layer and an outer layer coupled to the inner 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. The method comprises dividing scrap material into a plurality of discrete pieces of scrap particulate matter via a grinding or shredding process, inserting a layer of the discrete pieces of scrap particulate matter into the closed pocket formed between the inner layer and the outer layer of the wall of the upper. The outer layer may be formed of a sufficiently transparent material, such that the layer of scrap particulate matter is at least partially visible therethrough.