How ExtraLife Materials is Turning Old Tires into Gold for Your Soles
The best business ideas start with tenacity, curiosity, and, in the case of ExtraLife Materials, a ripped-up shoe insole. What began as a casual father-son moment sparked this Columbus-based startup on a journey to shake up the footwear industry with ultra-durable, eco-friendly insoles made from recycled tires.
A startup rooted in sustainability.
From day one, the founders of ExtraLife Materials had a mission: find smarter, greener ways to reuse materials we usually throw away. When they discovered cutting-edge technology that could extract recycled rubber from end-of-life tires, their entrepreneurial instincts kicked in. Tires, after all, are made to last, with premium rubber and reinforcements that make them practically indestructible.
ExtraLife’s founders experimented with prototypes and market fit. Early concepts included shipping dunnage and other industrial products, but none hit the sweet spot of performance and cost.
The breakthrough moment came not in a lab but at home.
One of the founders was watching his young son mess around with a pair of his dad’s old sports shoes. The boy yanked out a worn-out insole, and an idea clicked: The recycled rubber might be perfect for making high-performance insole rubber for shoes—durable, flexible, and built to last.
Big brands like Nike and Wolverine are under pressure to use more sustainable materials. And startups like Allbirds and Rothy’s have proven that today’s consumers aren’t just asking for greener products. They are buying them.
In this environment, ExtraLife’s recycled rubber insole that outperforms traditional petroleum-based foams by 2X, wouldn’t be just a nice-to-have innovation. It is exactly what the industry is hungry for.
Built to perform, ready to prototype.
After nearly five years of research and development, Extra Life Materials is now positioning itself as a supplier of premium footwear components made from recycled and durable rubber, beginning with the shoe insole market and expanding into shoe outsoles and midsoles. The company offers patent-pending formulations and ready-to-use components to forward-thinking footwear brands providing, in addition to the sustainability advantage, higher durability and superior comfort than other default and sustainable insole options.
After five years of research and development, ExtraLife Materials has matured from lab-scale prototyping to preparing for commercial scale production, offering sustainable solutions for footwear brands that want to go green without compromising on performance or price. The company is gearing up to produce commercial orders of ExtraLife Insoles for shoe brands who demand large volumes and competitive pricing that is akin to the fast-fashion industry.
The secret sauce? A deep understanding of rubber science, a supply chain readiness, and a sustainability story that holds water.
Eco Doesn’t Mean Soft
For the team at ExtraLife, sustainability isn’t just about being less bad. It’s about being better—stronger, smarter, and cost-effective. This startup is redefining what recycled materials can do, and in the process, giving old tires a second life under our very feet.
So next time you’re lacing up your shoes, think about this: The future of footwear might just be riding on yesterday’s road.
