Essentially rubber: 'Natural kick'

Leading-edge designs and applications showing how elastomer materials contribute to all aspects of life and lifestyle in the 21st century:

Israeli materials startup Balena and shoe designer Kitty Shukman have launched 'Roots', a 3D-printed concept slide with a natural kick. The footwear is made from Balena’s proprietary material ‘BioCir’ materials, billed as the “first, fully mouldable, biodegradable elastomer." Products made with BioCir are biodegradable and can be completely decomposed in an industrial compost facility. According to Balena, the manufacturing process of the material “is highly scalable”, allowing for collaborations across diverse industries. Consisting of up to 60% bio-based content, the material has hardness between Shore 70A-90A, which could be as low as 40A when foamed.