(Ruth) So at On, our mission is to ignite the human spirit
through movement.
(Nils) The experience of running is always
central around this.
We are building and growing together with a big community.
(James) The future now is within circularity
but also that journey towards that.
How do we essentially product create
in the right way to lead the industry,
in order to take sustainability seriously?
(James) The history of On started with three people,
David Allemann, Caspar Coppetti, and Olivier Bernhard,
and they had the vision to create the perfect running shoe
that didn't exist on the market.
A garden hose and a pair of scissors later,
Olivier had made what we called a Monster
and he went for a run and he was like,
"Hey, we're onto something here."
(Ruth) So CloudTec is our first patented technology from On.
(Nils) It consists of different hollow pots called clouds.
And the special thing is,
they are not only cushioned vertically,
but also horizontally.
So CloudTec is basically made for a soft landing
and an explosive takeoff.
(Ruth) At On, we have a super collaborative culture.
It's like nowhere I've really worked.
Everyone who has an idea can bring that to the table.
- In terms of the sock liner
I wanted to have something again, very light.
(Nils) So at On, the goal is making a proof of concept
as quick as possible.
Basically within hours,
we can make it from an idea
to a final first shoe we can run in
and to see if an idea really has potential.
- And then we went to something like this
with a lot of cavities.
(Nils) So building the prototype is basically happening
with our hands.
I think at other companies,
often it happens first all digital.
We are starting differently.
We are starting with a physical prototype.
And the interesting thing is,
we are involving our design team in that.
(James) And then once we have a prototype,
we will then essentially put it on the foot
and we will take it on the treadmill.
And then we'll start analyzing
the sports science aspect of that shoe.
(Ruth) Being able to quickly make a prototype to
show an idea
and to prove that the technology works or not,
is something that inspires everyone in their every day.
Not just in product,
but I think in all of the other teams as well.
(James) Now we're trying to fix the sustainability issues,
which is how do we eliminate waste in our process?
(Ruth) We've created a fully recyclable product line
here at On,
and it's called Cyclon.
So the Cyclon program is starting with the Cloudneo.
And the idea of this,
is that every product that we make in this range,
we can take the materials back and then recycle them
and use them to make the next product.
(James) What we were researching is,
how can we make the whole shoe
out of one raw material?
So what we zoomed in on are castor beans.
(Nils) A lot of people cannot believe it,
but basically we take one polymer family
and engineer it into different functionalities.
This material is synthesized,
not from petrol, but from castor beans.
And the special thing about the castor beans is,
they are growing only in very dry areas
where nothing else can grow.
(James) From this, we get to this.
Now, when this goes to our end consumer
and they're finished with it,
we take this back and we can put this back into
the raw material system,
and then create this shoe all over again.
(Nils) The runners out there more and more understand
the direction we are going.
That it's not only about a good looking shoe
and a shoe which feels good,
but which also takes responsibility for the impact.
(James) So the future of On,
definitely follows this circular route that we've created
with the Cyclon program and with the Cloudneo,
and it's taken it even further.
How can we push this on more footwear?
How can we push this on further products at On?
(Ruth) When I think about On in the next few years,
I'm so excited for the journey
because every product that we make,
we're getting better.
From a technology standpoint,
from a sustainability standpoint,
every time that we create something new,
we're building on the ethos that we set up at the beginning.