Japanese sports brand Asics launched the Nimbus Mirai 2, the second generation in its running shoe line focused on circularity. The shoe builds on the original Nimbus Mirai, introduced in 2024, and continues the brand’s approach of designing shoes with material recovery and recycling in mind.
The original Nimbus Mirai was a milestone in Asics’ sustainability strategy. The shoe featured an upper made predominantly from a single material, which simplified material recovery at the end of its life.
Asics also used a specially developed adhesive that securely bonds the upper and sole during wear, but can be detached with heat for recycling. Combined with the cushioning and performance of the Gel-Nimbus family, these features create what Asics describes as a simple circular journey: run, return and restart.
Central to this journey is the Asics return program. Consumers are encouraged to return their Nimbus Mirai 2 once the shoes have reached the end of their life. This allows the materials to reenter the recycling process and be incorporated into future circular products.
Each pair of shoes has a QR code on the tongue with information on how to return them. The program is currently available in the U.S., the U.K., the Netherlands, France, Japan, Australia, New Zealand and China. According to Asics, the initiative has been expanded to additional markets with this launch.
Compared to its predecessor, the Nimbus Mirai 2 is approximately 37 grams lighter, while Asics states that the shoe retains the soft, protective cushioning of the Gel-Nimbus family. The brand also reports a lower CO2 footprint for the new shoe. According to Asics’ CO2 footprint methodology version 1.4, the Nimbus Mirai 2 has a footprint of 4.9 kilograms of CO2e per pair. This is a reduction of approximately 20% compared to the original Nimbus Mirai, which the brand calculated at 6.1 kilograms of CO2e per pair.
