Nike Looks To Revolutionise Sneaker Manufacturing With FlyLeather
As an environmentally conscious company, are serious about reducing their carbon footprint. And if doing so happens to advance performance sportswear, then all the better. They managed this win-win scenario with 2012’s lightweight, waste-reducing Flyknit, and are now looking to repeat the success.
This time the brand are attempting to cut wastage from animal products using ‘Flyleather.' The material recycles the 30 per cent of hide manufacturers typically discard and gives it new life. Nike haven’t given away all their trade secrets, but they offer this: 'recycled leather fibres are combined with synthetic fibres and a fabric infrastructure via a hydro process with a force that’s so strong it fuses everything into one material.'
The product offers a host of benefits, perhaps the largest being the reduction of carbon output by four-fifths, but it also stands to serve athletes by virtue of it being five times stronger than normal leather and nearly half as heavy.
The environmental pros of Flyleather are inarguable, but Nike still have to sway those who prize leather for its purity and grain – an issue they’re leaving to the Flyleather Tennis Classic. The sneaker is the first to sport the innovation, and will be available on September 18 from retailers like . Other models like the Air Force 1, Air Jordan 1 and Air Max 90 will then release later in September.