Valone

🏆 Call for Research and Development Partnerships 2025 partner

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Company presentation

VALONERUN, based in Nantes (44, Loire-Atlantique, France), designs and markets high-performance, repairable trail running shoes.

VALONERUN develops outdoor-inspired products using materials selected for durability. The brand relies on European manufacturing and integrates repairability-by-design principles into its design and production choices.

Several partners with complementary expertise are collaborating on this project:

  • Sole manufacturers
  • Upper textile manufacturers
  • Cobblers / repair professionals

Project objectives

The project led by VALONERUN aims to develop a high-performance trail running shoe (lightweight, responsive, breathable, with strong grip and traction) that is durable and repairable, capable of reaching 3,000 km of use through two repair cycles, meaning *three “lifecycles” in total.

A first model was designed and launched in 2025 using off-the-shelf solutions. This project aims to design a second, more innovative model, with improvements in product design, materials, repairability, and performance.

  • Refashion funding: 90 000€
  • Project duration: 12 months

💡 Key project informations

  • Type of CHF covered : Footwear
  • Value chain stage : Ecodesign
  • Applications: Footwear (closed loop)
  • Output product : Repairable trail running shoe

🔄Project steps

1. Design phase

(design enabling simplified separation of components for repair; product specifications and test protocols)

2. Development phase

(prototype development; repair testing and product characterisation)

3. Factory prototype development

(final tests)

Words of VALONE Founder

“Manufacturers and runners accept throwing away trail running shoes every 6 months as an inevitability. We will never accept this because we see no future in the industry's current operating model. This is why we created Valone by making a radical choice: to develop high-performance shoes with extreme durability. Made in Portugal, designed between Brittany and the Écrins, and conceived to be repaired. With the development of this new model, we want to open up an unexplored field in trail shoe manufacturing. We are convinced that the sector will transform completely in the next 10 years, and we want to play an important role in this future. High Performance and extreme durability are no longer opposed. They are our starting point.”

Philippe Morvan - Founder of VALONE

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