Dow launches waste-derived elastomers for sustainable footwear

Horgen, Switzerland – Dow Inc. has announced the launch of a new high-performance polyolefin elastomer (POE) from plant-based feedstock.

Engage Ren, is a “more sustainable brand extension” to the company’s Engage range POEs and is produced using renewable energy and feedstocks such as used cooking oil, Dow said 3 May.

The brand was enabled by Dow’s Ecolibrium technology, which transforms sustainably sourced waste and by-products from other industries, into plastics.

As only waste residues or by-products from an alternative production process are utilised, the raw feedstock materials don’t consume extra land resources nor compete with the food chain, Dow added.

According to the materials supplier, the polymers deliver “equivalent performance” in the final application as fossil-fuel counterparts and do not require reformulation.

Dow said it has begun supplying the plant-based polymers for use in Crocs’ manufacturing process of its Croslite material.

The materials, according to Dow, will have a lower CO2 impact compared to Croc’s current sustainable materials.