Sustainable footwear article

Abstract

Articles of footwear for sustainable systems are disclosed herein. A modular article of footwear includes a knitted upper component and a midsole component that are removably secured together. Some aspects further includes an exterior sole component that is removably secured to the midsole component and the knitted upper component.

1 . An article of footwear, comprising:
 a first knitted upper component comprising a set of yarns recycled from another knitted upper that no longer exists in its original form, the first knitted upper component at least partially defining an interior chamber configured to receive a wearer's foot and having a lower portion with knit strips defining a first plurality of openings;   a first midsole component comprising a first thermoplastic polymer material component recycled from another midsole component that no longer exists in its original form, the first midsole component received in the interior chamber of the first knitted upper component and having a plurality of protrusions extending through the first plurality of openings in the first knitted upper component; and   an exterior sole component positioned below the first knitted upper component and the first midsole component, wherein the exterior sole component is at least partially wrapped around a medial knit panel and a lateral knit panel of the first knitted upper component.   
     
     
         2 . The article of footwear of  claim 1 , wherein adjacent protrusions of the plurality of protrusions are separated by recessed surfaces of the first midsole component and, wherein the lower portion of the first knitted upper component is positioned under and contacts the recessed surfaces of the first midsole component. 
     
     
         3 . The article of footwear of  claim 1 , wherein the set of yarns of the first knitted upper component comprises polyester yarns. 
     
     
         4 . The article of footwear of  claim 1 , wherein the first thermoplastic polymer material component comprises thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU). 
     
     
         5 . The article of footwear of  claim 1 , wherein the first midsole component and the first knitted upper component are joined together without adhesives. 
     
     
         6 . The article of footwear of  claim 1 , wherein the exterior sole component forms at least a portion of a ground-contacting surface of the article of footwear, the exterior sole component comprising:
 a first top edge portion located along an instep region on a medial side of the article of footwear, the first top edge portion including a first lace-engaging component; and   a second top edge portion located along the instep region on a lateral side of the article of footwear, the second top edge portion including a second lace-engaging component.   
     
     
         7 . The article of footwear of  claim 6 , wherein the exterior sole component comprises a thermoplastic polymer material. 
     
     
         8 . The article of footwear of  claim 6 , wherein the exterior sole component extends from a toe region of the article of footwear to a heel region of the article of footwear. 
     
     
         9 . A sustainable system for an article of footwear, comprising:
 a first article of footwear comprising:
 a first knitted upper component at least partially defining an interior chamber configured to receive a wearer's foot, the first knitted upper component comprising a lower portion configured to extend under the wearer's foot and comprising knit strips defining a plurality of openings; 
 a first midsole component received in the interior chamber of the first knitted upper component and comprising a first plurality of protrusions extending through the plurality of openings in the first knitted upper component; and 
 a first exterior sole component positioned below the first knitted upper component and the first midsole component, wherein the first exterior sole component is at least partially wrapped around a first medial knit panel and a first lateral knit panel of the first knitted upper component; and 
   a second article of footwear, comprising:
 the first knitted upper component removed from the first article of footwear; 
 a second midsole component received in the interior chamber of the first knitted upper component and having a second plurality of protrusions extending through the plurality of openings in the first knitted upper component; and 
 a second exterior sole component positioned below the first knitted upper component and the second midsole component, wherein the second exterior sole component is at least partially wrapped around the first medial knit panel and the first lateral knit panel of the first knitted upper component. 
   
     
     
         10 . The sustainable system of  claim 9 , wherein the second midsole component is made from recycled thermoplastic polymer material. 
     
     
         11 . The sustainable system of  claim 9 , wherein the first knitted upper component is formed of yarns recycled from another knitted upper component. 
     
     
         12 . The sustainable system of  claim 9 , wherein the first article of footwear comprises a first exterior sole component configured to extend under at least part of the lower portion of the first knitted upper component and having at least one opening through which one or more protrusions of the first plurality of protrusions of the first midsole component extend. 
     
     
         13 . The sustainable system of  claim 12 , wherein the first exterior sole component extends under at least a toe region of the first knitted upper component. 
     
     
         14 . The sustainable system of  claim 9 , wherein the first knitted upper component is joined to the first midsole component in a first instance without adhesives and is joined to the second midsole component in a second instance without adhesives. 
     
     
         15 . An array of articles of footwear, each article of footwear in the array comprising:
 a knitted upper component comprising an underfoot portion defining a plurality of openings, the plurality of openings comprising: a first opening and a second opening separated from the first opening by a knit strip of upper component material, wherein the knitted upper component at least partially defines an interior chamber configured to receive a wearer's foot;   a midsole component received in the interior chamber of the knitted upper component, the midsole component having a plurality of protrusions including a first protrusion extending through the first opening and a second protrusion extending through the second opening, wherein the knit strip of upper component material covers a portion of the midsole component located in a recess between the first protrusion and the second protrusion, wherein a first standard deviation among widths of knit strips in the array of articles of footwear is less than 1.2 millimeters; and   an exterior sole component positioned below the knitted upper component and the midsole component, wherein the exterior sole component is at least partially wrapped around a medial knit panel and a lateral knit panel of the knitted upper component.   
     
     
         16 . The array of articles of footwear of  claim 15 , wherein the knitted upper component includes an overfoot knit panel having a length from an ankle opening to an anterior portion of a toe region, wherein a second standard deviation among lengths of overfoot knit panels in the array of articles of footwear is within a range of 3 millimeters and 6 millimeters. 
     
     
         17 . The array of articles of footwear of  claim 16 , wherein the overfoot knit panel comprises a plurality of lace tunnels. 
     
     
         18 . The array of articles of footwear of  claim 15 , wherein the midsole component and the knitted upper component are joined together without adhesives. 
     
     
         19 . The array of articles of footwear of  claim 15 , wherein the first protrusion and the second protrusion each include a side wall defining the recess, wherein the side wall is a continuous surface. 
     
     
         20 . The array of articles of footwear of  claim 15 , wherein the exterior sole component includes a plurality of lace openings.