Nike Grind: A Marriage of Sustainability and Innovation

This post is about Nike Grind, a shining example of sustainability and innovation. Nike Grind is an initiative started by Nike in 1992, not because sustainability was a trend but because they envisioned a circular future where the concept of waste no longer exists. 

What is Nike Grind?

Nike Grind is the magic wand that turns the pumpkin into Cinderella’s carriage. Only the pumpkin here is manufacturing scrap, end-of-life footwear, and unused manufacturing material. And Cinderella’s carriage? Would you guess?- running tracks, weight training equipment, indoor and outdoor courts, playgrounds, rubber flooring, and pet accessories to name a few. 

Nike Grind is the therefore the pixie dust made of scrap and unused materials such as leather, foam, rubber, textiles and thermoplastics. 

Products made from Nike Grind materials

• Rubber dog toys for chewing, treat release and training
• Nike Strength premium weight training material
• Flooring in schools, homes, hotels, gyms for sound dampening and slip resistance
• Indoor courts for multi-purpose activities
• Outdoor courts for multi-purpose sport activities and leisure centres
• All -weather playground surfaces
• Walkways for outdoor and indoor recreational spaces
• Bedding and doormats 

What does this mean for you?

Did you know that depending on the material they’re made from, a pair of trainers can take anywhere between 30 to 1000 years to disintegrate in a landfill. While natural materials like cotton, canvas or leather take about 30-40 years to disintegrate, synthetic materials such as nylon, plastics and EVA foam can take up to a 1000 years to completely decompose. 

This is where initiatives like Nike Grind can come to the rescue. 

Instead of chucking away your old trainers, try and close the loop by participating in initiatives like Nike Grind. 

How Does Nike Grind Work?

Step 1 : Drop off your used footwear and apparel at a participating Nike store. You can find these by checking which Nike stores participate in the Recycling + Donation program. 

Step 2: Nike will then sort out returns by creating 2 piles, the recycling pile and the donation pile

Step 3: Nike either donates or recycles your retired product. In either case they’re kept away from landfills. 

Nike Grind in The World

Tsinghua University, China – A track used by student-athletes in China’s Tsinghua University was renewed with Nike Grind. Through Nike’s Recycle-A-Shoe program, Tsinghua’s students, alumni and faculty donated 264,000 pairs of shoes that were processed into 61,960 kilograms of Nike Grind rubber. The end result was the West Sports Field track’s new surface. 

California’s Game On Exhibit– Over 4 tons of recycled Nike Grind rubber extracted from end-of-life shoes has been used to install the flooring at the Game On exhibit housed at the California Science Centre.

An Olympic Legacy–  Through a collective effort Nike, JD Sports, Youth Beyond Borders and Playtop, have been able to leave the people of France with an Olympic Legacy gift. They’ve installed a multi sport space called Auber 93 in Aubervilliers by using Nike Grind rubber  extracted from over 30,000 pairs of end-of-life shoes. Auber 93 has created a new buzz in this Parisian suburb as it is set to host regular free sport initiatives and to foster safe sport participation among underprivileged communities. 

There are many more wonders created from Nike Grind materials. These include the walkway for the paralympic track surface at the Brillia Running Stadium in Tokyo, flooring at the Nike Rebound facility (where Nike conjures up new products from retired products), and outdoor basketball courts at schools, and in cities like Paris, Manila and Guangzhou. 

Nike Grind marks the beginning of Nike’s journey towards a zero waste and zero carbon future, a marriage of sustainability and innovation that has lasted over 30 years and is still going strong! 

And on the Flix List Today:

Nike’s faith in red, black and Michael Jordan has created history! It has to be ‘Air’ on today’s flix list. 

The Final Verdict!

When it comes to sustainability, Nike Grind has done it, does it and continues doing it! 

This post is all about Nike Grind, an initiative dedicated to achieving circularity, and a more sustainable future.