While many companies tout the energy-friendly properties of their products during production or useful life cycle, very few products can make claims for eco-friendliness after they’ve been thrown away.  In fact, some sources have claimed that keeping a gas-guzzler on the road is still more eco-friendly than buying a hybrid and tossing your old car away.

But now, a running shoe company is looking to bring some of the buzz back to biodegradable. According to Brooks Sports, some of the materials in running shoes can take up to a thousand years to biodegrade fully. But thanks to a new non-toxic additive, the company’s new BioMoGo material should break down in roughly 20.

The additive is designed to take effect only in conditions found in landfills, so you can expect no reduction in durability. Brooks has also taken a cue from the software world, and decided to release the product as an open-source project, making it free of charge to any other interested companies. 

This development both reduces landfill impact and refocuses consumer and industry attention on the environmental impacts of their products well after their useful life cycle has been completed.