Nike accelerates to sustainability by partnering with bluesign

Nike Corporation is partnering with Swiss company bluesign in order to accelerate the supply of more sustainable materials and chemistries for its products.

The new partnership will allow Nike to provide screening tools made by bluesign that will allow them to select more sustainable dyes, detergents and chemicals for their supply chain, removing the need for costly and time consuming individual factory assessments.

The new technology will allow Nike to conduct the screenings at an unprecedented scale and pace, removing the need for Nike to screen its 800 worldwide factories individually, which would have taken a number of years along with significant investment.

Using one tool, bluefinder, a supplier can access pre-screened and more sustainable textile preparations (dye systems, detergents and other process chemicals used in the manufacturing process), which enables suppliers to effectively manage restricted substances and provides the opportunity to increase water and energy efficiency.

In addition, Nike will also be provided by another tool, the bluesign® blueguide, which gives Nike access to 30,000+ materials produced using chemicals from the bluefinder at facilities that have undergone rigorous assessment.

Other brands using bluesign tools include Lululemon, North Face, Patagonia, REI, and Black Diamond.

Nike, which introduced a Restricted Substances List in 2001, based on the most stringent worldwide legislation plus a number of voluntarily restricted substances, is pursuing an integrated strategy encouraging textile manufacturers and chemical suppliers to pursue positive chemistry while also working to eliminate hazardous substances through its internal processes and policies.

NIKE, Inc.’s VP of Sustainable Business & Innovation, Hannah Jones, calls the partnership a significant step in the company’s sustainable materials strategy: “Nike is committed to catalyzing a major change in the world of materials, driving for the elimination of hazardous substances and innovating new, sustainable materials. To shift to a palette of entirely sustainable materials