Rheom Materials launches Benree resin and Shorai Dura for footwear components
On Oct. 1, Houston-based Rheom Materials announced it is introducing Benree resin for hard plastic shoe components and launching Shorai Dura, a footwear-grade leather alternative. Rheom said Benree passed SATRA testing for high-heel applications with Bared Footwear, showing performance comparable to ABS plastic. The company describes Benree as USDA Certified Biobased with 100 percent biobased content and says it biodegrades under home composting conditions.
Rheom reported Shorai Dura achieved up to 500,000 Bally Flex cycles and 70,000 Martindale abrasion revolutions in testing. A Los Angeles-based footwear manufacturer used Shorai Dura to create an athletic sneaker and a textured skater shoe, both prototypes. Benree is designed for injection molding applications, while Shorai Dura serves as a flexible material for parts traditionally made with leather or synthetic alternatives.
“A shoe is not one material; it is multiple parts working together as a system. Substituting a single material has never moved the needle,” Zimri T. Hinshaw, founder and CEO of Rheom Materials said.
“From samples and testing, Rheom has proven to be solving both of those problems for us,” Millie Richards, head of sustainability at Bared Footwear said.
Rheom Materials is moving deeper into footwear, targeting both the uppers shoppers see and the components beneath them. The expansion follows high-heel application testing with Australian brand Bared Footwear and the development of two prototype shoes featuring Shorai Dura uppers.
What we know
The Houston-based biomaterials company announced Oct. 1 that it is introducing its Benree resin for hard plastic shoe components and launching Shorai Dura, a footwear-grade version of its leather alternative.
Rheom said Benree passed SATRA testing for high-heel applications with Bared, with results showing performance comparable to acrylonitrile butadiene styrene, or ABS plastic.
The company describes the resin as USDA Certified Biobased with 100 percent biobased content and says it is biodegradable under home composting conditions.
Rheom reported results of up to 500,000 Bally Flex cycles and 70,000 Martindale abrasion revolutions.
Bared’s involvement remains at the sampling and testing stage described in the announcement, which included no launch date for shoes incorporating Benree.