Nike launches a unique new line of shoes to select retailers and Nike members this spring; unlike their other product lines, these shoes are made predominantly out of recycled material from the production of their other lines of footwear. To quote Nike, they use “space junk” made of scrap directly from the factory floor to produce these ecofriendly shoes.
John Hoke, Nike Chief Design Officer, had this to say about the concept behind the shoes “Space Hippie is also an idea. It is about figuring out how to make the most with the least material, the least energy, and the least carbon.”
Carbonless footprints
A major goal for Nike while making the Space Hippie line is to keep the bold design they are famous for while lowering their carbon footprint as much as possible. To achieve this goal, Noah Murphy-Reinhertz, Nike Sustainable Design Lead, is embracing the weird and using up to 100% recycled materials for some parts of the shoes giving them a unique design and “trash” aesthetic that gives them a spacy look and greatly minimizes their carbon footprint.
Space Hippie uses something they call space yarn to make part of the futuristic-looking shoes. This yarn is made of things like plastic bottles, T-shirts, and scraps. They are using recycled foams from other production lines for many other parts of the shoes
Walking in circles
Seana Hannah, VP, Sustainable Innovation, and the Space Hippie team believe the future of manufacturing will be circular, using the byproducts and recycled materials from the first generation of products to create the next with minimal ecological impact. In the face of so much panic over the climate crisis, the Space Hippie team maintains what they call an “optimistic urgency” while on their journey to make ” the most sustainable shoe ever.”
A path forward
With a focus on sustainability and passion for creating a better future, I believe the Nike Space Hippie team may embody the future of manufacturing. As the global focus shifts further toward one of climate and ecological awareness, people are looking for sustainable solutions. Companies that embrace these ideas early and vigorously are likely to see more success than those who fail to move forward into the future.
Photo credit: All images shown are owned by Nike and have been provided for press purposes.
Source: Nike press release
