A load of old rubbish
It’s not often that companies are pleased when people say their new products are rubbish, but that is exactly what Nike’s new performance basketball shoe, the Nike Trash Talk, is. Made from manufacturing waste, the shoe is the result of the latest collaboration between Nike and Phoenix Suns Steve Nash.
Modelled after Nash’s current shoe, the Nike Zoom BB II Low, the Nike Trash Talk is said to meet Nike’s design standards “for taking a sustainable approach to performance footwear innovation”. The upper is pieced together from leather and synthetic leather waste from the factory floor using zigzag stitching, the mid-sole uses scrap-ground foam, while the outsole uses environmentally-preferred rubber that reduces toxic waste and incorporates Nike Grind material from outsole manufacturing waste.
Nike footwear designer, Kasey Jarvis said: “I was really looking for a ‘here and now’ solution to footwear waste, and creating a performance product using waste materials felt like a very innovative solution. Using Nike’s Considered design ethos I was able to create a shoe that stands up to the stringent on-court performance requirements but is also more environmentally friendly.”
