Do more with less - that's the message from Nike as the sporting giant shows their eco colours at this year's London Olympic Games. Envisioning a closed loop where products are recycled into an endless process of creation and renewal, Nike's new Olympic uniforms set a new benchmark for the use of recycled polyester in sporting apparel. Lightweight performance that leaves a lighter footprint on the planet… check out the press release below for the impassive tech specs.
NIKE Flyknit: NIKE debuts the NIKE Flyknit Racer and NIKE Flyknit Trainer, lightweight shoe. NIKE believes that to design for the future, we need to create products in a completely new way today.
Our innovation is in the NIKE Flyknit manufacturing process; NIKE uses only the materials needed to knit the upper of a shoe. Traditional footwear manufacturing processes use a number of materials and cuts. NIKE Flyknit reduces waste using special yarns, knitted together to create one lightweight, formfitting upper.
Recycled Polyester: Utilizing recycled PET plastic bottles, NIKE designs superior performance apparel. Reclaimed, discarded plastic bottles are melted down to produce new yarn and converted into fabric to create NIKE’s high performance apparel. This process saves raw materials and reduces energy consumption by an estimated 30% compared to manufacturing virgin polyester.
This year, NIKE expands its use of this seminal technology, crafting the fabric of the Nike Hyper Elite basketball shorts from 100 percent recycled polyester, while the jersey fabric is made from approximately 96 percent recycled polyester. The uniforms are made using an average of 22 recycled plastic bottles.
In the global football arena, NIKE introduces national team kits made using an average of 13 recycled plastic bottles per kit: shorts fabric is made with 100 percent recycled polyester, and jersey fabric is made with approximately 96 percent recycled polyester. The creation of this year’s kit used approximately 16 million recycled plastic bottles, enough to cover 28 soccer pitches.
Additionally, fabric for the Nike Pro TurboSpeed is made with approximately 82 percent recycled polyester, using an average of 13 recycled plastic bottles.
The principles of Nike Better World are serving the needs of the athlete and the planet at the same time.
Learn more about Nike’s Summer of Innovation products and technologies.
