Industrial thread maker, Coats, has announced the launch of a new method for making footwear composite materials that, according to the company, not only speeds up the manufacturing process but also cuts material waste by 5%.

Coats claims that Lattice Lite Eco, a revolutionary fiber-laying technology, creates footwear composite materials for the next generation of high-performance supershoe using sustainable materials.

Yarns may be accurately positioned in the desired place and direction thanks to fiber-laying technology. According to Coats, this means that the thickness, flexibility, torsion, and rigidity of each section of the footplate may be customized to guarantee that it supports every part of the foot. This also helps to address the ongoing difficulty for footwear designers to combine high performance with comfort.

Lattice Lite Eco eliminates the need for additional resin stages such as prepreg or resin transfer moulding, speeding up the manufacturing process, and lowering material waste to 5%, compared to over 30% in standard composite operations. It can make use of a variety of environmentally beneficial components, including recycled carbon, recycled nylon, and natural resources like basalt and flax.

Adrian Elliott, President, Apparel and Footwear Coats, said that Coats Lattice Lite Eco technology is revolutionary and eco-friendly. It improves performance on multiple levels: for the consumer wearing the end product and for their consumer, who can develop components faster, optimizes manufacturing, and minimize waste.

The technology was developed in Turkey at the Coats Innovation Hub EMEA. Lattice Lite Eco can also be found in toe caps, torsion bars, heel counters, bindings, and knuckle protection, in addition to footplates. It produces components that are both lightweight and robust, allowing products to move further, faster, and stronger.

Coats said at the end of last year that it is speeding up and amplifying its journey toward a sustainable future, with stronger aspirations in terms of scope, scale, and speed, focusing on net-zero and circularity.