Nike have been looking to adapt their approach to sustainability, advancing the brand’s Move To Zero initiative in the last year.
This included eco-friendly designs such as the Space Hippie model and ACG collection, which is “Designed, Tested, And Made On Planet Earth” – 85% of the ACG clothing was made from at least 90% recycled material.
Basketball is the focal point for the Oregon-based sportswear behemoth. LA Lakers Power Forward, Anthony Davis, was the lucky athlete to put the Cosmic Unity, Nike’s only basketball shoe that is sustainably made to the test, during the 96-95 win against the Boston Celtics on Sunday.
The Cosmic Unity fits in with Nike’s plans of a zero-waste, zero-carbon future with the shoe containing 25% recycled content with a “green glow” colourway.
Recycled yarn and plastic are the materials used for the sock liner and laces whilst the upper consists of reconstructed cable yarn. Even the iconic Nike Swoosh features recycled rubber marbling.
Nike have also been able to use what was considered waste with cutting-room scraps and excess materials to create shoe components, the Crafter Foam sole is made up of Nike Grind rubber.
The Cosmic Unity is one of the lightest basketball shoes in the world. The lightweight footbed, described as a full-length Zoom Air Strobel, removes the need for binding materials that are used in other models, reducing the sneaker’s carbon footprint during production in the process. Nike’s ethos is that the lighter the shoe, the more responsive the wearer will be on the court as a result.
Ross Klein, senior creative director for performance footwear at Nike had this to say regarding the Cosmic Unity as quoted by GQ:
“We asked ourselves a question that is guiding our process into the future: can a product that makes the world better also make an athlete better? We wanted to create a synergy between making the world better by what we do, but also leave an impact for athletes so that they can perform at a higher level.”
The Cosmic Unity will be available to buy on 26th February from nike.com as the brand continue to find new ways to revolutionise basketball’s sneaker game.
Source: GQ