CleanCloud®

From pollution to performance. Turning carbon emissions into high-performance materials.

The Cloud X 5

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Two people running through the streets on wet asphalt. A blurry light effect suggests they are moving quickly.

Man running on a gray road, wearing the Cloudprime. Behind him are densely wooded hills against a moody sky.

Knee-down view of a woman standing in the Cloudprime, a CleanCloud shoe.

CleanCloud® explained

We combined various technologies to capture CO2 before it enters the atmosphere to create EVA (short for Ethylene Vinyl Acetate). A high performance foam we call CleanCloud®.

“We wanted to see if we could take a resource that is abundant in the atmosphere and do something positive with it” - Jean-Philippe Romain, Science & Innovation Director

An innovative solution to the fossil-based midsole materials used in traditional sports shoes, CleanCloud® is the first EVA midsole made using captured carbon emission and is indistinguishable in feel, comfort and support. Our first step in introducing carbon capture to premium performance.

A graphic blue and white illustration of vapor emissions within a bubble-like circle.

Our partners at Infinium use renewable power, water and captured CO2 to create eNaphtha – a cleaner alternative to processed crude oil.

Wavy lines of liquid are shown within a white circle on a blue background.

Our partners at Borouge International then restructure the eNaphtha at a molecular level, splitting its elements into building blocks such as Ethylene, which is converted into EVA, needed to engineer our gear.

Bubbles rise within a white circle on a blue background.

We then blend EVA with traditional materials and additives to create a light, responsive and high-performance EVA foam.

The ridged sole of the Cloudprime appears in a white circle on a blue background.

This is molded directly into our CloudTec® midsoles. So you get the same sensation, while we reduce our reliance on fossil fuels.

Lab technician working with a machine on the Cloudprime outsole, while wearing glasses and a mask.

It all started in 2019 with a dream. A belief we could defy the industry. And a crazy idea.

Good Chemistry

We partnered with visionary companies across biochemicals, material innovation and production processes to take CleanCloud® EVA from a bold idea to something that moves us, and the world, forward.

A person wearing the Cloudprime is shown running, with a blurred light effect.

Moving from lab to scale. CleanCloud® meets Cloud X 5

If we’re going to dream, we’re going to dream big. If we’re going to lower our carbon impact, we’ll start with our most popular shoe.

Close-up of the Cloudprime's laces, showing texture and detail. A tag says, Made From Carbon Emissions.

Close-up of the Cloudprime's upper from the side, with attention to its breathable construction.

The Cloud X 5 is On’s first major style to integrate CleanCloud® foam into the midsole. Flexible, lightweight, built to move with you. Pairing carbon capture with uncompromised performance.

The Cloudprime floating against a gradient background of blue and lilac.

Sustainability at On

We’re on a mission to create high-performance products that leave less behind. CleanCloud® is our first step in bringing commercial carbon-capture footwear to the global market. But we’re only just picking up the pace.

A back view of the Cloudprime, within a lab setting.

Close-up view of the Cloudprime's midsole, showing detail of the rounded shape and ridged texture.

Man checking the details of the Cloudprime's outsole, in the lab.

Three people, one seated woman and two standing men, working hard in the On Lab.

A lab technician working with a machine on a CleanCloud outsole, while wearing gloves and glasses.

Men's

A scenic view, across a lake toward dark hills on a cold day, with snow-tipped mountains in the distance.

Discover other technologies

Q&A:

No, and we believe in absolute transparency. The CleanCloud® EVA midsole compound in the Cloud X 5 contains roughly 48% attributed carbon-captured content. Think of making a shoe midsole like baking a cake – you need different ingredients to get the right structure: The Base (EVA): Makes up 67% of the overall midsole recipe (the remaining 33% consists of essential fillers, stabilizers, and colors). The Breakthrough (Ethylene): Standard EVA uses 72% petroleum-based ethylene. We’ve replaced 100% of that ethylene with our carbon-captured alternative. The Math: 72% (ethylene) × 67% (total EVA) = ~48% carbon-captured content in the final midsole compound.

We use a certified mass-balance process. With this chain of custody model we can track, trace and verify the sustainability of the feedstock materials throughout the chain to make it more visible and tangible.

Because captured carbon-derived feedstock is mixed directly with conventional fossil inputs in existing chemical plants, we don’t run separate, inefficient production lines.

This is identical to how green electricity works in the power grid: you pay for green energy to be added to the grid, which accelerates transition, even if the exact electrons powering your lamp can't be isolated. Mass-balance allows us to scale efficiency and utilize existing global infrastructure without building redundant factories.

CleanCloud is our internal standard for EVA, and we intend to roll it out as widely as possible. Currently, the only limiting factor is supply chain volume – specifically, the capacity of the captured carbon feedstocks from Infinium.

Because of this, we are prioritizing our most popular commercial styles, like the Cloud X 5, to potentially minimize our environmental impact. As supply capacities scale up, our utilization of CleanCloud will scale with it.

Our third-party LCA, conducted by CarbonMinds and critically reviewed by TÜV, assessed the cradle-to-gate impact of 1 kg of unpacked EVA copolymer. The assessment compared our new CCU-based EVA to conventional fossil-based EVA and evaluated the CCU-based material under two different accounting frameworks:

- Conventional Fossil-Based EVA (Pathway 1): The climate change impact is 3.12 kg CO2eq per kg EVA.

- CCU-Based EVA - Credit Approach (Pathway 2a): The impact is 0.4997 kg CO2eq per kg EVA. This is our primary calculation, as it is aligned with the "Together for Sustainability" (TfS) industry guidelines. This approach reflects a circular economy model by granting a "credit" for using captured carbon, which represents the benefit of avoiding the emission. This results in a modeled reduction of approximately 84% in greenhouse gas emissions compared to the fossil-based pathway.

- CCU-Based EVA - Cut-off Approach (Pathway 2b): The impact is 4.32 kg CO2eq per kg EVA. This alternative approach treats the captured carbon as a "zero-burden" raw material but gives no credit for its use. The resulting footprint is higher because it accounts for the energy-intensive processes of capturing and converting the CO2 without factoring in the benefit of emission avoidance.

These figures are based on a modeled Life Cycle Assessment and represent potential environmental performance. They should not be interpreted as verified product-level emission reductions. The full LCA and TÜV critical reviews are available here and here.

Both numbers are scientifically valid under ISO 14040/44, but they represent different accounting frameworks. Pathway 2a (Credit/System Expansion) is aligned with Together for Sustainability (TfS) guidelines. It burdens the CO2 generating industrial process with the climate impact and grants a corresponding CO2 credit to us for utilizing that captured gas as raw material. This represents the net circular economy benefit.

Pathway 2b (Cut-off) treats the captured CO2 as a zero-burden waste input but awards zero credits for avoiding the emissions of the original factory. Because CO2 capture and hydrogen production are highly energy-intensive, the lack of avoidance credits leads to a higher overall calculation of 4.32 kg CO2eq per kg EVA. This shows that accounting frameworks matter immensely, which is why we are transparently presenting both.