Hoop Dreams

Newest Air Jordan shoe will be made to sustainable standards, says Nike

Posted at 1:08 PM on 09 Jan 2008

The 23rd version of Nike's iconic Air Jordan basketball shoe was designed with sustainability in mind, says the company. The Air Jordan XX3 will be manufactured with some recyclable materials and without solvent-based glues, while still meeting the performance standards demanded by pro-ball endorsers such as Chris Paul and Ray Allen. The shoe is still manufactured in Asia, and critics say the changes are no reach for the stars: "A shoe made without glue, in the face of all the other things that contribute to global warming ... it's a pretty small thing," says Jim Van Dine of startup footwear company Ahnu Inc., who admits, "Nonetheless, it's a step in the right direction." Nike says that attempts at sustainability contributed to the shoe being the most expensive Air Jordan produced yet, with a first-run limited edition priced at $230 and the wider-released shoe to be $185.

source: The Oregonian

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Comments: (3 comments)

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Greenwash...

...notice they say recyclABLE materials, not recyclED materials. Seriously, how much of the general population is gonna recycle parts of their old shoes?

Still, it's better than nothin', I suppose.

by Tasermons Partner at 6:58 PM on 09 Jan 2008

Recycling old tennies

Nike does have a recycle program called Reuse-A-Shoe where they do just that. From their website:

Every year, across the globe, millions of pairs of athletic shoes end up in landfills or are disposed of in some other way. That's a lot of shoes going to waste that contain valuable materials that could be re-used. So with a degree of imagination, some ingenious engineering and a persistent pursuit of the principles of sustainability, we created the Nike Reuse-a-Shoe program in 1993. Since then, we've recycled more than 20 million pairs of athletic shoes and contributed to more than 250 sport surfaces to provide access to places to play for kids as part of Let Me Play, Nike's global community investment program.

Unfortunately, City Sports is where I dropped mine off for mailing to Nike and I learned from another person that they usually just throw them away (at least that's what a City Sports employee told her).

I'm not a fan of Nike but as a person who tries to recycle what I can, it appears to be the only option out there.

by ivanstoke at 7:25 PM on 13 Jan 2008

Alternative...

...just give 'em to your friendly local kennel or animal shelter. They always enjoy gettin' old shoes for the dogs to play with.

by Tasermons Partner at 7:52 PM on 13 Jan 2008

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