Nike has released a new, open-source design guide to provide designers and
product creators across the industry with a common language for circularity.
According to Nike, Circularity: Guiding the Future of
Design was created in collaboration with the
students and staff of Central Saint Martins, University of the Arts
London and with inspiration from Global Fashion Agenda; and follows on the
notion that the future of design is an opportunity. The aim is to create
products that promote circularity — that last longer and are designed with the
end in mind.
"At Nike, we believe in the unlimited potential of athletes. We have an
obligation to consider the complete design solution, inclusive of how we source
it, make it, use it, return it, and, ultimately, how we reimagine it,”
says John Hoke, Nike’s Chief Design
Officer. “Circularity and its related workbook share principles that support a
universal call to action for our industry: We must all come together and have a
more positive impact on our planet.
“Design has the opportunity to take on a powerful role in making the world a
better place,” Hoke added. “Circularity puts us on a journey that focuses on
achieving progress hour by hour, day by day, week by week, year by year. By
focusing on progress and not perfection, and by making better choices, we
embrace the chance to reconsider our craft in hope that it forms a ground swell
of change."
Circularity by Design: How to Influence Sustainable Consumer Behaviors
Join us Thursday, December 5, at 1pm ET for a free webinar on making circular behaviors the easy choice! Nudge & behavioral design expert Sille Krukow will explore the power of Consumer Behavior Design to drive circular decision-making and encourage behaviors including recycling and using take-back services. She will share key insights on consumer psychology, behavior design related to in-store and on-pack experiences, and how small changes in the environment can help make it easy for consumers to choose circularity.
One example of sustainable design at Nike is new thinking around how to improve
the material palette, proving that sustainability is not a constraint, but a
catalyst for innovation — case in point:
Flyleather is an example
of creating lower-impact, more-durable alternatives to conventional materials.
This isn’t Nike’s first foray into sharing resources that provide insight into
its design thinking and guidance toward use of more sustainable materials. In
2012, Nike developed the Higg Material Sustainability
Index
— a cradle-to-gate scoring tool that measures and communicates the environmental
performance of thousands of materials used in creating apparel, footwear and
home textile products; and in 2014, it released an app called
MAKING,
to help designers and product creators make informed decisions about the
environmental impacts of the materials they choose.
Now, Circularity: Guiding the Future of Design aims to build on those by
sharing 10 key principles — from materials, cyclability and waste avoidance to green chemistry and durability — all starting points from which to tear down norms and
reconsider the process of craft and design. The guide includes case studies from Nike, as well as from Levi Strauss,
t-shirt subscription service For Days, Patagonia’s
Worn
Wear
program, children’s clothing line Petit
Pli,
British fashion designer Christopher
Raeburn
and more — each illustrating one of the 10 core principles.
As Noel Kinder, chief sustainability officer at Nike,
told
Women’s Wear Daily, “There are some case studies that say, ‘Here’s an example
of this particular principle,’ but from a collaboration point of view, this is
meant to be an engagement — so the idea of the guide is to open-source it, but
also continually engage with the people who have provided feedback.”
The company says it hopes that the workbook helps to inspire considered choices
that will reshape the future of product design around the world.
Get the latest insights, trends, and innovations to help position yourself at the forefront of sustainable business leadership—delivered straight to your inbox.
Sustainable Brands Staff
Published May 21, 2019 11am EDT / 8am PDT / 4pm BST / 5pm CEST