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High-Performance Shoe Materials
Staying a step ahead in footwear design and comfort
When it comes to reaching athletic excellence, the right footwear can make all the difference. Our high-performance shoes are meticulously designed to enhance performance, providing a range of benefits that can push boundaries and achieve extraordinary results. Be it advanced cushioning for comfort, or better rebound for speed and responsiveness, Dow continues to push the boundaries for material quality and performance when it comes to high-performance shoes.
We work side-by-side with some of the world’s top footwear manufacturers to help them create high-performance footwear that delivers on every occasion. In addition to athletic performance, we also work to help them improve the sustainability profile of their high-performance footwear – through lowering carbon emissions and supporting recyclability.
Cradling the heel and arch while securely positioning the foot in place in the shoe, heel counters offer the rearfoot stability runners need to stay on stride even over long distances.
Depending on how stiff and firm—or cushiony and flexible a midsole is, it can improve stability, enhance comfort and help address specific injuries and types of pain. Dow materials contribute a range of characteristics, including light weight with exceptional resilience, durability and softness.
Literally where the rubber hits the road, the outsole of the shoe has to provide the perfect balance of toughness, lightweight, durability and flexibility. Dow foams, resins and other materials work together to offer the right performance properties for the sport and environment—whether that’s on the track, field or court.
The part of the shoe that covers and protects the toes, the toe box has to be both rigid and flexible.
Insoles cushion the foot from stress, distributing the body’s weight and supporting the arches. Dow materials offer the excellent durability, resilience and stability needed to help keep athletes light on their feet and protected from injury.
Powering Under Armour’s high-performance athletic shoes
Dow’s unitsole technology helps power the performance of Under Armour’s Flow range of athletic shoes, including the Curry Flow 8 which delivers improved traction and rebound. Utilizing our experience in materials science, Under Armour was able to dial in on energy return, shock absorption and traction to enhance the court feel, cushioning and speed of movement without sacrificing durability. This added durability helps extend the life of the shoe and reduce waste.
Dow and Under Armour win 2022 Edison award
The collaboration with Under Armour received an Edison award in 2022—marking it as a pioneering achievement in product and service development, human-centered design, and innovation.
Welcome to the future of performance apparel
Where collaboration breeds innovation, and materials science performs like magic. At Dow, we don’t just engineer materials. We design custom solutions with you that redefine what performance apparel can achieve, helping your brand’s clothing, shoes or bags stand out from the crowd.
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High-performance midsole materials for high-performance footwear
Pushing boundaries further in sports and active lifestyles becoming commonplace means high-performance shoes are seeing rising requirements in flexibility, adhesion, and foaming capabilities. As a result, olefin-based polymers such as ENGAGE™ Polyolefin Elastomers (POEs), including our plant-based ENGAGE™ REN POEs, are often blended with ELVAX™ EVA (ethylene-vinyl acetate)-based foams to enhance performance and processing. In addition, INFUSE™ Olefin Block Copolymers (OBCs), ELVALOY™ Copolymers and ENERLYTE™ Polyurethane Elastomers can be added to produce midsoles with greater levels of performance, comfort, and durability.
Watch how to improve midsole performance with INFUSE™ OBCs.
Learn how INFUSE™ OBCs outperform e-TPUs in cost and performance.
Find the right high-performance polyurethanes solutions for your active consumer.
Let’s work together to deliver high-performance footwear that is comfortable innovative and improve your footwear applications.