Insole manufacturing has a dirty secret. Behind every comfortable step lies a material with an outsized environmental footprint: EVA foam. It's light, flexible, and devastatingly wasteful.
Across the UK, 57 companies each produce around 40,000 insoles a year. That’s 2.28 million insoles annually, most made from expanded EVA. EVA (ethylene-vinyl acetate) is a soft, foamed plastic that’s easy to shape and cheap to buy. But it comes with a big problem: it doesn't break down.
Traditional insole manufacturing wastes a huge amount of this material. On average, 84% of each EVA block is cut away and discarded during production. That means over 191 tonnes of EVA waste go to landfill every year in the UK alone. And the UK is just one piece of the puzzle.
The European market is five times larger. The US is ten. That takes global EVA waste from insoles to more than 3,600 tonnes per year—material that ends up buried, burned, or floating in ecosystems where it doesn't belong. When incinerated, it releases CO₂.
When landfilled, it leaks toxins. When it escapes into nature, it breaks into microplastics that contaminate soil and water.
Much of this waste is invisible to the end customer, but it's well known in the supply chain.
Why Is So Much EVA Wasted?
EVA is supplied in sheet or block form. Most orthotics labs use a vacuum forming process: heating a sheet, then pressing it over a foot-shaped mould. This sounds simple - but it requires a large area of EVA to produce just one insole.
The moulds, often made from MDF or 3D-printed plastic, are single-use or wear quickly, meaning they're replaced constantly. This adds not just material waste, but time and cost to every job.
In a traditional setup, you're not just throwing away EVA, you’re also throwing away tooling, offcuts, and time.
A Circular Solution from Fyous
At Fyous, we think it's time to change the mould.
Our PolyMorphic system is a completely new approach to insole manufacturing. Instead of cutting away 84% of a material block, we mould only what’s needed, using software-defined tooling that reshapes itself for every job.
This means:
- No EVA waste
- No disposable moulds
- No landfill from offcuts
And because we use a flexible moulding platform, we're not locked into EVA.
We’re already working with partners to explore recyclable, bio-based, or even compostable insole materials, taking waste reduction to the next level. Imagine an orthotic insole that performs just as well as EVA, but can go into a circular recycling stream (or back into the ground) at the end of its life.
Built for the Real World
We know orthotics labs are under more pressure than ever, particularly with the NHS Orthotics & Immobilisation framework. Orders are time-sensitive. Customisation is essential. And patient outcomes matter more than anything. That’s why Fyous technology is built not just for sustainability, but for efficiency and repeatability:
- Our moulding process is fast and automated
- Moulds are digitally controlled, not cut from blocks
- Every shape is stored digitally, making reorders almost instant
By removing waste and reducing manual steps, labs can save up to 50% in labour and material costs—while dramatically lowering their environmental footprint.
Rethinking Footwear. Rethinking Waste.
EVA is a material of convenience, not conscience. And yet it remains the go-to for much of the orthotics industry. Not because it's the best option, but because the tools to do better haven’t been available.
Until now...
Fyous offers manufacturers a real alternative: a moulding system that’s flexible, digital, and zero-waste from day one. One that enables the shift from linear to circular production, without slowing you down.
As sustainability demands grow, orthotics labs that adopt cleaner technologies won’t just be doing the right thing, they’ll be future-proofing their businesses.