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The company Nike, a major sports clothing and shoes distributor around the world, has made huge steps towards a more eco-friendly and sustainable style of production and manufacturing. The company released three goals as part of their sustainability project, which are to “minimize environmental footprint, transform manufacturing, and unleash human potential.” Nike has strived towards these goals by making changes in their factories and materials as well as by reaching out to young children to stress the importance of physical activity.
Several ways that Nike has altered its production style are shown through the use of different shoe technology, water-conserving techniques, and energy cuts. Nike has introduced a new shoe material called Flyknit technology, which provides the maximum structural support for athletes while remaining lightweight and easy to wear during physical activity. While providing the shoes needed for athletes to perform to their best ability, Flyknit technology also produces 60 percent less waste than traditional methods of making shoes. Along with a different shoe technology, the company has also introduced new methods of saving water during production in factories. Nike has started using a new dying method called ColorDry, which dyes fabric without using water. To make better use of recyclable and reusable trashed materials, Nike has found a way to utilize plastic bottles and material from old original Nike material to produce new clothes and shoes. Between 2008 and 2016, the company has rerouted more than 3 billion plastic bottles headed for the landfill and has instead turned these bottles into recycled polyester for Nike products. Also, the new plan Nike Grind has been introduced to use materials from older clothing as the framework for new clothing, saving fabric. In order to conserve energy, the Nike footwear manufacturers have cut down on energy needed and emissions generated to make shoes by 50 percent, saving company money while also helping the environment.
Along with making changes in the factory setting, Nike has also strived to push children to live more active lifestyles, which is another essential part of sustainability because it has been proven that physically active people are happier, healthier, and more vibrant. In order to influence this healthier way of life, Nike has reached out to schools around the world to spread awareness of the physical inactivity epidemic and to influence children to get up and moving as often as possible. By working with movements such as Let’s Move! Active Schools, Nike has impacted the lives of children across the globe by influencing healthy physical activity.
Clearly, Nike has made some serious changes to company habits and partnerships to make it a more sustainable business. These changes impact lives everywhere because Nike is a major sportswear company with lots of influence on the economy of the world and the depletionor conservation of natural resources.
Source: http://news.nike.com/news/sustainable-innovation
~Danni Vines
