Nike said it expects all its footwear to comply with its Considered Design standards by 2011 with apparel meeting the standard by 2015 and equipment by 2020. Achieving these goals would reduce Nikes supply chain waste by 17%, while increasing its use of environmentally preferred materials by 20%. Currently, only 15% of Nikes Spring 09 footwear line meets the standards.
The disclosure, made before the press at a high rise in New Yorks financial district last week, marks the most public announcement yet of Nikes sustainability goals. Since 1990, when Nike introduced its Reuse-A-Shoe footwear recycling program, the company has sought to achieve greater environmental friendliness in its products and processes.
“Natural resources are increasingly scarce, especially as populations continue to grow,” Nike president and CEO Mark Parker said. “But we are now seeing the emergence of a sustainable economy and with it the potential for Nike to be a game changer. Our goal is to reintroduce all waste into production. We want the product and production to be less reliant on oil. Sustainable design will improve gross margins, boost profitability, and its good for the environment and consumers.”
The long-term mission of Considered Design is to create products that are fully closed-loop. They would be produced using the fewest possible materials and designed for easy disassembly, which would allow the goods to be recycled into new products or safely returned to nature at the end of their lives.
