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Nike’s latest sneakers are rubbish (and why that’s a good thing)

4 min read

Sustainable Planet

“Space Hippie” is Nike’s latest innovative footwear collection inspired by life on Mars—where materials are scarce and there is no resupply mission.

Space Hippie: sustainable sneakers made from waste

Nike say their latest offering, Space Hippie, is an exploratory footwear collection inspired by the In-Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU) method employed in space travel—where materials are scarce and there is no resupply mission. ISRU suggests that the further humans go into space, the more important it will be for them to use local materials to generate their own products. Created from scraps, or “space junk,” the sporting goods giant say Space Hippie is the result of sustainable practices meeting radical design. 

The upper part of Space Hippie, which resembles Nike's Flyknit design, is knitted from what Nike calls
The upper is knitted from what Nike calls “space waste yarn” The upper part of Space Hippie, which resembles Nike’s Flyknit design, is knitted from what Nike calls “space waste yarn”. This is made from 100% recycled material including plastic water bottles, T-shirts and textile scraps. When combined with other design elements, Nike claims the shoe upper consists of a total of 90% recycled content. Source: Nike

Every aspect of the Space Hippie line was chosen with sustainability in mind

Sports goods manufacturers Nike have launched a new, exploratory collection named Space Hippie  to highlight the NASA-inspired concept of in-situ resource utilisation — the idea of using space-based resources during deep space exploration. By taking the company’s own “space junk” from the floors of its manufacturing warehouses, Nike is turning waste into feedstock, creating a sustainable sneaker that combines high performance with low impact. 

The Space Hippie shoes are assembled using recycled “space junk”, such as recycled plastic water bottles, T-shirts and yarn scraps. According to Nike, every aspect of the Space Hippie line was chosen with sustainability in mind, from the material to the production methods to the packaging. The new shoes boast the lowest carbon footprint score compared to the company’s other products.

Source: Inhabitat 

Nike has launched four versions of the sneaker called Space Hippie 01, 02, 03 and 04 Source: Nike

Space Hippie attacks the villain of trash

Nike used factory scraps and recycled "space waste yarn" to create the Space Hippie sneakers in an experimental project to reduce the carbon impact of its products.

Each of the four different designs in the collection – named Space Hippie 01, 02, 03 and 04 – are made from scrap material taken from Nike’s factory floors, which the brand has named "space junk", and other recycled materials.

The brand said that the result "is the creation of Nike footwear with our lowest carbon footprint scores ever".

"It is about figuring out how to make the most with the least material, the least energy and the least carbon," John Hoke, Nike’s chief design officer, told Dezeen. "I’d say Space Hippie attacks the villain of trash."

"It’s changed the way we look at materials, it’s changed the way that we look at the aesthetics of our product," he added. "It’s changed how we approach putting product together."

Nike designer Noah Murphy-Reinhertz added "There’s this idea in space exploration that if you’re going to fly to the moon or fly to Mars and stay there and do something, you have to create things with what you find there,"

"They say there’s no resupply mission coming to Mars – there’s no resupply mission coming to earth either."

Source: Dezeen

The middle, cushioning part of the trainer is made from surplus ZoomX foam taken from the production of the Nike Vaporfly 4% Flyknit running shoe. According to Nike, it repurposes this lightweight foam in a manner that uses around half the carbon dioxide equivalent as the creation of typical Nike foams.
Nike claims Space Hippie is the creation of footwear “with our lowest carbon footprint scores ever” The middle, cushioning part of the trainer is made from surplus ZoomX foam taken from the production of the Nike Vaporfly 4% Flyknit running shoe. According to Nike, it repurposes this lightweight foam in a manner that uses around half the carbon dioxide equivalent as the creation of typical Nike foams. Source: Nike
The outsole part of each shoe in the Space Hippie collection is built from
Nike Space Hippie: Trash Transformed The outsole part of each shoe in the Space Hippie collection is built from “crater foam”, made from a mixture of standard Nike foams and 15% recycled waste rubber that has been ground down into granules, which Nike has branded as Nike Grind, for a more sustainable, lightweight and responsive feel. Source: Nike
Komrads are the world's first sustainable, high-quality sneakers made from apple peels plus recycled materials like rubber from car tyres, and laces from recycled ocean plastic. Click link to learn more ?
Komrads: sneakers made from… apples? Komrads are the world’s first sustainable, high-quality sneakers made from apple peels plus recycled materials like rubber from car tyres, and laces from recycled ocean plastic. Click link to learn more ? Source: Komrads/BrightVibes
Sports giant adidas unlocks a circular future for sports with Futurecraft.LOOP — a 100% recyclable performance running shoe which can be completely remade into another high performance running shoe. To learn more, click link ?
adidas 100% recyclable sneakers are ‘made to be remade’ Sports giant adidas unlocks a circular future for sports with Futurecraft.LOOP — a 100% recyclable performance running shoe which can be completely remade into another high performance running shoe. To learn more, click link ? Source: adidas/BrightVibes
Space Hippie: These Nike Sneakers are Trash Literally. When Nike set out to create the lowest carbon footprint shoe ever, it quickly became clear that waste would need to be its primary source material. But can you make a shoe out of, well...garbage? Even the designers and engineers weren’t sure. But they had to try—our future depends on it. The result: kicks completely out of this world. Say hello to Space Hippie. Source: YouTube/Nike
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