Nike Launches New App to Help Designers Make Eco-Friendlier Choices

Nike has launched a new tool to help apparel designers make informed decisions about the sustainability of the materials they choose. Dubbed "Making," the free app scores 22 frequently used textiles based on data from Nike's open-source Materials Sustainability Index. Each material is further ranked according to its specific environmental impact on water, chemistry, energy, and waste, as well as its use of recycled or organic content.

TOOL FOR CHANGE

The global apparel industry is expected to produce more than 400 billion square meters of fabric annually—enough to blanket the state of California—by 2015, according to industry numbers. Even today, dye houses use up to 200 tons of water for every ton of fabric they process.

The global apparel industry is expected to produce more than 400 billion square meters of fabric annually by 2015.

“Imagine if we could change these figures—the sustainable difference it would make,” says Hannah Jones, vice president of sustainable business and innovation at Nike, in a statement. “Today, more than ever, we believe that systems innovation, transparency and sharing of tools and indexes will propel business and society towards a more sustainable future.”

The sportswear giant worked with the London College of Fashion to solicit additional feedback during Making’s development. Nike also invited students from the school’s Centre for Sustainable Fashion to use the app to create a capsule collection of athletic uniforms for the 2016 Olympic games in Brazil.

“It was incredibly insightful to use the data in Making while creating our designs,” says Alasdair Leighton-Crawford, a student at London College of Fashion. “The app helped us identify materials that have lower environmental impacts, without compromising the design process. Making shows that sustainability is not a limit, but an inspiring new way to look at product creation.”

+ Making on iTunes