Separable and recyclabe footwear

A method of making a separable footwear article comprising:

• providing an outsole oriented to define a bottom of a footwear article and configured for ground contact, the outsole comprising a first material;
• providing an upper portion, the upper portion comprising a second material different from the first material;
• releasably coupling to the outsole and the upper portion with thread using chain stitching;
• providing a removable midsole releasably disposed between the outsole and the upper portion, the removable midsole comprising a third material different from the first material and the second material;
• and
• temporarily coupling to the outsole and the upper portion via a temporary adhesive to hold a stitching position prior to coupling the outsole and the upper portion,
• wherein the outsole, the removable midsole, 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.

A separable footwear article comprising:

• an outsole configured to be oriented at a bottom of a footwear and configured for ground contact, the outsole comprising a first material;
• an upper portion releasably coupled to the outsole via a coupling mechanism, the upper portion comprising a second material different from the first material;
• a removable midsole releasably disposed between the outsole and the upper portion, the removable midsole comprising a third material different from the first material and the second material;
• and
• a welt configured to releasably join the outsole and the upper portion, wherein the welt is releasably coupled to the outsole, and wherein the outsole, the upper portion, the removable midsole and the welt are capable of being separated by releasing the coupling mechanism.