Outdoor Insight

s /UTDOOR )NSIGHT s *ULY outdoorinsightmag.com A ndrej Zwer, product manager for footwear for Adidas Outdoor, says, "Everyone is interested in getting a bit more sustainable, especially in the outdoor market. We realized we needed to make it easy for the consumer to participate in being sus- tainable — in the past it's been so complex." For Spring '18, the brand will be taking its Parley recycled ocean plastic partner- ship into the performance space with the women's-specific $100 Terrex CC Voyager Sleek Parley multisport style. It's also launching ZeroDye, a collection of four trail runners made with non-dyed upper materials and recycled EVA midsoles, that will deliver in Spring. In addition to saving a significant amount of water by forgoing the dye process, Zwer says, the shoes form a record of your trips. "At the beginning, a lot of people said, how can you do a trail running shoe in completely white, it's going to get dirty immediately. But wherever you run, the shoe will look different — if you run on the red sand in South Africa, or around trails in New Zealand, the shoes will show that," he says. O C onsumers want performance, but they're also drawn to the look and feel of natural materials, and that intersec- tion point will be a driver for Spring '18. "People are really returning to wanting this natural feeling, with a texture and an organic, imperfect feel — there's more of an emotional connection," says Sumi Scott, director of product for The North Face's Mountain Lifestyle division. But, she adds, they also want their gear to perform. For the North Face, that means materials like canvases and waxed canvases that offer a familiar look and feel but offer tangible benefits like water-resistance and durability. Cork is also seeing a groundswell of interest for the season for both its natural cushion- ing properties as well as its immediately recognizable look — and brands that have long embraced it for their insoles are making cork front-and-center in their footwear. Sole's Spring '18 Beach Flips style ($60) pair footbeds made of the brand's 100 percent recycled cork with TPU straps. Superfeet has made its cork-EVA insole blend the centerpiece of its style since launching footwear — Spring '18 styles like the $95 Dana show it off. "Consumers are learning that they don't need to trade comfort for style — they can have both, and they're demanding that from their footwear options," Superfeet CMO Eric Hayes says. O T he sports sandal trend continues to be strong for Spring '18 — for women especially. New collections are embracing the style's utilitarian roots but bringing punchy, sophisticated colors and detail to the look. Oboz is launching the Freeflow sandal collection, which includes the $95 Confluence, a quick-drying style with Mary Jane design inspiration built on the supportive insole that character- izes the brand's boots, as well as the $90 Campster, which is also available for men, a moc style with a shaped footbed and durable polyester webbing. "The Campster … aims to blend a per- formance fit, light weight and comfort into a highly functional sandal," Oboz design director Chuck Roth says, adding that retailers have responded to the "trim look" and feature set of the shoes. Merrell is showing sandals including the $80 Sunstone gladiator style and the $80 Around Town Sunvue Woven sport style, both of which elevate its classic sport roots with eye-catching patterned elastic cord uppers and a slim, flexible midsole- outsole using the brand's M Select Cush technology that includes an air cushion in the heel. (The Around Town Sunvue Sport also features a cork-wrapped EVA midsole, making it a player in two major trends.) Meanwhile, the new Breeze sandal from Khombu, $70, offers a streamlined take on the closed-up fisherman style. An elastic closure system and quick-dry mesh linings keep the shoe technical, while a sophisti- cated color palette and slim lines give it an updated look. O FOOTWEAR 2. EASY GREEN 3. MATERIAL MIX 4. SPORT STYLE !DIDAS 4ERREX ## 6OYAGER 3LEEK 0ARLEY -320 3UPERFEET $ANA SANDAL WITH CORK INSOLE -320 3OLE "EACH &LIP -320 WITH RECYCLED CORK FOOTBEDS /BOZ #AMPSTER -320 "OGS 2IO +HOMBU "REEZE -320

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