Nike unveils app to help designers “invent better”

Sportswear giant Nike has launched a new app, Making, which aims to help designers and product creators make informed decisions about the environmental impacts of the materials they choose. As part of the brand’s commitment to

sustainability, the free app available from iTunes is a designer-specific tool that ranks materials used in apparel based on four environmental impact areas: water, energy, chemistry and waste, as well as whether the material uses recycled or organic content.

Created using insights and feedback from students at London College of Fashion’s Centre for Sustainable Fashion, the app draws on data from Nike’s Materials Sustainability Index (MSI) over the last seven years, which offers direct comparisons and fast insights on how different materials stack up on a sustainable level.

The app ranks 22 of the most commonly used fabrics in apparel, such as polypropylene fabric, leather, cotton and silk, out of 50 according to the MSI.

Nike’s ‘Making’ app focuses on sustainability

Commenting on the new app, Nike’s vice-president of apparel design, Lee Holman, said: “Innovation is in Nike’s DNA, and sustainability is an integral part of Nike’s design process. We’ve created the Making app to empower any designer around the world to make better materials choices in the initial stages of the innovation process to ultimately create products that are better for consumers and better for the planet.”

In addition to offering feedback during the development of Making, students from the London College of Fashion also worked on a capsule collection of sportswear for athletes to wear for the Brazil 2016 Olympic games, using the app to produce the most sustainable design.

“It was incredibly insightful to use the data in ‘Making’ while creating our designs,” said 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.”

At the launch in London, Nike revealed that the creation of the app was not only produced to inspire designers and creators, but also educate, stating that with the global apparel industry expected to produce more than 400 billion square meters of fabric annually, that tools like this were needed to create a more sustainable future.

Nike’s vice president of sustainable business and innovation, Hannah Jones, added: “Imagine if we could change these figures – the sustainable difference it would make. 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.”