Leftover material from automotive airbags is now being utilized in sneakers, serving to to decrease the environmental impression of automobiles and footwear alike.
The Asics Gel-Sonoma 15-50 makes use of airbag nylon material remnants from Toyoda Gosei, one among Toyota’s captive suppliers, in its higher components. Launched in January 2023, the sneaker gained a Good Design Award 2024 from the Japan Institute of Design Promotion.
Toyota Land Cruiser displaying off airbags
“Making an upcycled product utilizing waste materials as a principal materials is seen because the type of motion that’s wanted by society, each from the point of view of efficient use of supplies and in arousing customers’ curiosity in materials waste in at this time’s society,” jurors mentioned in a press release.
Toyoda Goesi has additionally marketed luggage and pen circumstances comprised of airbag material and scraps from leather-based steering-wheel wrappers underneath its personal Re-S model. There have been an ideal many airbag remembers lately, a few of which embrace tons of of 1000’s of autos, just like the Toyota Grand Highlander, so if the fabric might doubtlessly be recovered, the provider has proven a method to make use of it.
2025 Toyota Grand Highlander
Automakers and suppliers are additionally properly on the way in which to chopping the footprint of autos by taking different sorts of recovered supplies—from landfill waste to ripped denims—and utilizing them for automobile cabins.
Different odd however helpful restoration efforts that will repay huge embrace recovering magnet materials from outdated exhausting drives for EV motors. And Kia has formidable plans, introduced in 2021, to section out leather-based and up the extent of recycled plastics in its cabins and autos.
