Hong Kong based Mount to Coast, a specialist in ultrarunning and long-distance footwear, has joined forces with BASF to advance sustainable innovation in performance shoes. Their collaboration has introduced CircleCELL, a cutting-edge midsole made with BASF’s ecoflex BMB biopolymer.

Ecoflex BMB replaces fossil feedstocks with renewable materials derived from organic waste and residual biomass, using a certified biomass balance approach. The result is a midsole that is claimed to be 90% more durable than traditional PEBA materials while maintaining equivalent energy return—key for high-performance running shoes.

This partnership underscores both companies' commitment to sustainability. Yeti Zhang, Head of Product at Mount to Coast, stated, “We aim to combine durability and sustainability without compromising performance.” Marcel Philipp Barth of BASF highlighted the importance of bringing proven biopolymers to new applications like footwear.

Certified by REDcert2 and ISCC PLUS, the ecoflex BMB midsole demonstrates the effective use of renewable materials in high performance footwear.