'Shoe without a footprint' invented with carbon emissions recycling

A prototype "shoe without a footprint" that incorporates captured carbon dioxide in the foam of its sole was released this past week at New York Fashion Week.

The sneaker was unveiled by NRG Energy, a company committed to reducing and repurposing carbon emissions.

"We are not going to win the fight against climate change unless someone figures out how to capture and reuse carbon economically and turn it into something that society values," Lynda Clemmons, vice president of NRG's Business Solutions Group, was quoted as saying by The New York Times.

The idea of converting carbon dioxide into products isn't completely new. Many projects have captured gas by cooling, liquefying and extracting it.

By using beverage-grade carbon dioxide, a chemical technology develops a proprietary catalyst that reacts with carbon dioxide to create polyurethane, which is then needed to make the foam for the sneaker and shape it as the "shoe without a footprint."

The invention of the special shoe also opens the market of replacing petrochemicals in products and lessen the world's dependence on oil.

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