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Nike Could Lead to a Change in Sneaker Impact’s Business with the ISPA Link & Link Axis, but that’s Fine by Us


 

The ISPA Link and ISPA Link Axis, examples of design for disassembly, are innovative catalysts that move the brand closer to a circular future.

Source: Nike ISPA Link, Link Axis are Innovations for a Circular Future

Sneaker Impact exists because sneaker companies have contributed to so much of the waste in landfills. Those cool and colorful kicks everyone loves to wear, don’t breakdown quickly and contribute to vast amounts of methane in landfills. Our goal has always been to help keep those harmful kicks out of the landfills longer. What happens when the brands realize their conflict with Mother Nature? The brands begin to change. Nike is already making a shift with their Move to Zero concept and mission to become carbon neutral, but they have a lot of production paths in place which will take time to repair. Sneaker Impact is here to help with that aspect, but the Nike ISPA Link does have us a bit afraid and we’re okay with that. Let us explain why.

Both sneakers pictured here are designed to be disassembled. Most sneakers are held together by glue which is toxic in some instances. Sneakers can’t usually be taken apart easily which can contribute to energy intensive processes to recycle. Nike explains it here:

This season, the ISPA team considered the circular design principle of “disassembly,†or the ability to easily take a product apart to recycle its contents, one of the more challenging principles to implement in footwear design. A good shoe is flexible and durable. Traditionally, designers use glue and other bonding elements to achieve these aims, but that makes a shoe nearly impossible to disassemble and recycle. Recycling shoes usually requires shredding, an energy-intensive process that limits how the recycled materials can be used. Creating a shoe that can be taken apart would reduce the carbon footprint of the product and open up new possibilities for its life cycle.

The Link sneakers are both made to be disassembled. This isn’t the first time Nike attempted this concept. They made a shoe over ten years ago named the Zvezdochka. That shoe was the Croc before the Crocs. It included a removable socklike bootie. There were other sneakers, but the advancements in the last few years have allowed Nike the ability to launch Sneaker Impact’s scariest sneaker, the Link Series. Like we said though, we’re okay with being scared especially when it will mean there are fewer sneakers finding their way into landfills. Use the link at the head of the post to read more about this new release from the Swoosh. Use this link to recycle your used sneakers with a free pre-labeled bag from Sneaker Impact.