Running in Circles

A subscription running shoe program aims to fight footwear waste

- Naureen Malik

Coming out of the pandemic, which forced road races to be canceled around the world, the biggest, softest running shoes were a salve—and motivation—in what was a very painful return to marathon training for many. That’s why I gave ultra-cushioned sneakers a chance after resisting them for years.

And boy, did the stripped-down, crisp, off-white Cloudneo from Switzerland’s On AG feel odd at first; the springy, curved soles mimic rockers on a chair with the heel and toe box off the ground. But the shoes quickly filled a gap in my collection: sneakers that look cool enough to wear casually or to work, while also doubling up for runs or a workout.

More than that, though, as an energy reporter writing about climate change, I was eager to test the Cloudneos in my personal quest to find sneakers that do less damage to the environment. Americans buy about 1 billion pairs of sneakers a year, with running shoes coming in at 15% of the $53 billion in retail sales, according to NPD Group Inc. On, which was co-founded by multiple Ironman winner Olivier Bernhard and counts Roger Federer as an investor, spent the better part of five years designing the high-performance Cloudneos. The key proposition: You only lease the dye-free, recyclable shoes.

Runners pay a $30 monthly subscription fee to run them into the ground and return them for a fresh pair whenever they need. The program is dubbed Cyclon.