Running in Circles
Bloomberg Businessweek US|March 20 - 27, 2023
A subscription running shoe program aims to fight footwear waste
Naureen Malik
Running in Circles

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.

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