Cloudrise Cyclon 1.1 shows On’s progress in circular performance footwear
On has introduced the Cloudrise Cyclon 1.1, a new running shoe developed through its circularity program, Cyclon™, which is designed to keep high-performance materials in circulation for longer.
The shoe incorporates a Speedboard® made from 99.5 percent recycled materials, sourced from post-consumer Cloudneo shoes returned by subscribers and from surplus production material.
This process represents a tangible step in On’s wider ambition to embed circular systems within its products and operations.
The initiative began in 2022 when the Swiss sportswear company launched its subscription-based Cyclon program, enabling runners to return worn-out shoes for recycling.
Since then, the brand has been collecting and processing returned products in order to reuse the materials in future footwear.
The Cloudrise Cyclon 1.1 is the first performance running shoe to demonstrate this concept at scale, highlighting a model that combines consumer participation, advanced recycling methods, and production efficiency.
According to On, developing the Cloudrise Cyclon 1.1 required time to gather a sufficient volume of returned shoes and to establish an infrastructure that could responsibly process them.
The brand partnered with recycling experts and logistics networks to ensure the materials could be collected, sorted, and repurposed.
By combining reclaimed Cloudneo components with leftover materials from manufacturing, the company has created a Speedboard® that carries forward the performance attributes of the original design while contributing to circular resource use.
Serena Bonomi, On’s Head of Circularity, described the project as a demonstration of how interconnected systems can support responsible production.
She emphasized that the learning process extended beyond material science to include consumer behavior, supply chain logistics, and the limitations of recycling technologies.
The resulting shoe illustrates what can be achieved when these factors are addressed collectively, while also setting the foundation for future iterations of the program.
Despite its reliance on recycled content, the Cloudrise Cyclon 1.1 maintains the same wide fit and neutral running profile as the original Cloudrise.
This ensures that performance remains consistent, underscoring that sustainability-driven innovation can exist without compromise in function.
By focusing on maintaining product integrity, On reinforces its position as a brand committed to both technical advancement and environmental responsibility.
The Cloudrise Cyclon 1.1 is being released as a limited edition available exclusively to subscribers of the Cyclon program across the United States, Canada, the European Union, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom.
The controlled rollout will provide the company with crucial insights into consumer response, recycling efficiency, and opportunities to refine the system further.
On has confirmed that it will continue reviewing the program in order to adapt and expand it based on user engagement and long-term environmental goals.
All images: On
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