My New Green Kicks – Nike Considered

I recently purchased a pair of shoes from Nike’s “Considered” collection of shoes. In a few of Bill McDonough’s talks, including his TED ‘05 speech, he mentions a Cradle to Cradle shoe developed in part by Nike:

“You can wear your old shoes in, your new shoes out. There is no finish line.”

(what a beautiful slogan for a Nike C2C shoe, btw. There is no finish line.”

On the lookout for a new pair, I noticed a shoe at Urban Outfitters here in Toronto that resembled what I had seen from McDonough. I asked the clerk at the store and he had no idea what Cradle to Cradle was. After a little research, I realized the shoes I had found there were actually from Nike’s “Considered” line, which were apparently inspired by Cradle to Cradle (although I’ve seen no evidence of any official endorsement as of yet).

Either way, I picked up this pair. More after the pics on the design of the shoe, including a vid from Jeff Staple, who was involved in the initial stages of the project.

From Wikipedia:

“Nike Considered is a sustainable line of shoes introduced by Nike, Inc., a major American supplier of athletic shoes, apparel and sports equipment. Nike Considered was developed by Richard Clarke, Tinker Hatfield, Steve McDonald and Mike Aveni working with the Innovation Kitchen, located on Nike’s 175-acre headquarters campus in Beaverton, Oregon. Nike Considered grew out of Nike’s commitments to design innovation and to sustainability. The designers pulled from the best ideas, both inside and outside the company, with the intent of reinventing footwear design. It also grew out of conversations with consumers who were increasingly asking for more sustainable products.

The Nike Considered line utilizes materials found primarily within 200 miles of the Nike factory which reduces the energy used for transportation, diminishing the resulting climate change impact. The manufacturing process reduces solvent use by more than 80% compared with Nike’s typical products. The leather comes from a tannery that recycles wastewater to ensure toxins are kept out of the environment, and it is colored using vegetable-based dyes. Hemp and polyester are used to make the shoe’s woven upper and shoelaces. The midsole is cut to lock into the outer sole, reducing the need for toxic adhesives. The shoe’s outer sole includes rubber made from recycled factory rubber waste.

Check out this vid from one of the shoe’s designers, Jeff Staple, explaining what went into the design, manufacture and marketing of the new eco-shoe:

Considered has a new shoe due out soon that will be the first “fully” Considered shoe, which must meet the following criteria:

1. Must be made from recyclable materials. (i.e., 100% recyclable plastics or veg-tanned leathers.)
2. Zero Toxins. Zero chemical adhesives. (no glue.)
3. Mechanical vs Chemical. (using mechanics and engineering to put the shoe together instead of chemical solutions.)
4. Closed Loop Technology. (the shoe must be able to come back 100% as another shoe or something else. Nothing goes to waste.)