Zurich, February 9th, 2026 – While progress has been made in apparel, complex end products such as footwear remain particularly difficult to recycle at scale. Shoes are designed to last: soles must withstand abrasion, flex and repeated impact, yet most footwear is not designed to be taken apart once it reaches the end of its life.

As a result, millions of pairs of shoes and large volumes of tennis balls are incinerated or landfilled every year, despite containing technically valuable materials. Recycling these products has long been challenging, conventional recycling approaches often degrade material quality, leaving brands with few viable alternatives to virgin inputs for new shoe soles.

We are pleased to announce our investment in THE 8 IMPACT, a France-based materials company regenerating end-of-life sports footwear and tennis balls into high-performance recycled materials for new shoe soles. THE 8 IMPACT has raised EUR 2M to scale its technology internationally, in a round led by Collateral Good, Bpifrance and Makesense.

Turning end-of-life footwear back into soles

Founded by Marie Soudré-Richard and Hélène Guerret, among the first entrepreneurs to address footwear recycling at an industrial performance level, THE 8 IMPACT focuses on regenerating materials used in shoe soles, where technical requirements are highest and circular solutions have been hardest to implement.

The company has developed a patented, fully mechanical process that separates, decontaminates and regenerates materials from end-of-life sneakers and tennis balls, without the use of chemicals or water. The resulting recycled materials are engineered to meet strict requirements for durability, elasticity and abrasion, allowing them to replace up to 50% virgin rubber in new soles.

Combined with proprietary software that optimises material formulations, THE 8 IMPACT’s technology delivers consistent industrial performance while achieving significant CO₂ savings compared to virgin materials. Crucially, the solution is designed to integrate into existing footwear manufacturing workflows, enabling adoption without redesigning products or production lines.

From industrial validation to market adoption

THE 8 IMPACT’s approach has already moved into commercial use. The company is already on the market with Veja, demonstrating that recycled materials can perform in real footwear products and meet brand quality standards.

Further launches are planned for 2026 with Decathlon, alongside additional major footwear brands currently progressing through qualification and industrial testing. This traction reflects growing demand for solutions that combine environmental impact with technical reliability, particularly as recycled-content targets and regulatory pressure increase across the industry.

Scaling a practical approach to circular footwear

The new funding will support international scale-up across Europe, Asia and the Americas, enabling THE 8 IMPACT to expand production capacity, deepen partnerships with global brands and manufacturers, and accelerate deployment across key footwear markets.

For Collateral Good, this investment reflects our conviction that meaningful circularity in fashion and sporting goods must start at the materials and production stage, especially for components like shoe soles where both impact and complexity are highest.

By enabling recycled materials that can genuinely replace virgin ones, THE 8 IMPACT is helping make circular footwear a practical reality, not just an ambition.