+ Eco-Shoes

Does your company know how much CO2 its operations are emitting? Does your company know the value of all the 'waste' it throws away? Nike does.

Nike is one of many brands today that is taking notice for the need to drive sustainable thinking into the development and marketing of its products. Nike has published a new corporate responsibility site that details their approach.

They have a list of restricted substances that should not appear in their products. Set goals to become carbon neutral as a company. Reduce the waste of its production and distribution. They have also seemed to develop a systematic approach to tracking all these metrics to find opportunities for improvement and verify they are meeting their goals. They have very detailed reports that you can read on their website. Furthermore, they admit this will be a challenge, but are approaching it as an exciting journey where they will task their core competency of design to help innovate their entire product line. Sounds like some great opportunities for young energetic designers.

The Considered boot shown below explores a new aesthetic and is made with more environmentally friendly materials

I recently purchase a new pair of shoes myself. They are not Nikes, but are defiantly embracing the same approach to design. My Simple Toekyo shoes, part of their new Green Toe line, that were built from a small set of careful selected materials and processes, and shipped directly to me in a 100% post consumer box. They make me feel a little better about myself as a consumer, and I think they look great too. My favorite part of their website is how they promote them as an ‘Eco-FriendliER’ shoe. It seems to admit, although better, still not perfect and that there is lots of room to continue to grow. Check them out here.