Separable and regenerative footwear

A separable footwear article comprising:

• an outsole oriented at a bottom of the footwear and configured for ground contact, the outsole comprising a first material;
• an upper portion comprising a second material different from the first material;
• a waterproof bootie configured to line the interior of the upper;
• and
• a welt positioned between the outsole and the upper,
• wherein the welt is releasably coupled to the outsole with a first thread using a first stitching technique, and releasable coupled to the upper portion with a second thread using a second stitching technique, and
• wherein the outsole, the upper portion, and the welt are configured to be separated upon receipt of a pulling force upon the first thread and the second thread sufficient to remove the first thread and the second thread from the footwear article.

A separable footwear article comprising:

• an outsole oriented at a bottom of the footwear and configured for ground contact, the outsole comprising a first material;
• an upper portion comprising a second material different from the first material;
• and
• a midsole positioned between the outsole and the upper, wherein the midsole comprises top layer and a plurality of midsole components positioned underneath the top layer, wherein the plurality of midsole components comprise a forefoot insert, a shank insert, and a securing bracket configured to hold the forefoot insert and shank insert together until disassembly, and wherein the top layer of the midsole is removeably secured to a top edge of the outsole via a removable stitch,
• wherein the outsole and the upper are releasably coupled with a thread using a using a chain stitching technique,
• wherein the outsole and the upper portion are configured to be separated upon receipt of a pulling force upon the thread sufficient to remove the thread from the footwear article, and
• wherein the midsole is configured to be removeably inset into the outsole and frictionally held within the outsole such that, upon separation of the outsole and the upper, the midsole is configured to be removed from the outsole and recycled separately.