Nike SB Zoom Janoski Flyleather RM

From plastic straws to big-screen TVs, landfills are filling up with trash. As people continue to try to find ways to make more sustainable products, they are starting to think about strategies to help eliminate waste and reuse everything from spent shoes to leather scraps instead of tossing them in the garbage.

“We tried to pull every lever we could,” says Jarod Courtney, Signature Footwear Product Line Manager for Nike SB, “We wanted to make this shoe as sustainable as possible while still making sure it performs like a skate shoe.” In addition to the Flyleather upper which is made from at least 50% recycled leather fiber, the Janoski Flyleather also incorporates 3% Nike Grind in the sole and side wall tape. Nike Grind takes cast-off manufacturing rubber, grinds it up into little grains and reconstitutes it into everything from shoe soles to play and sport surfaces.

Aside from Flyleather and Nike Grind, though, the entire design process of the shoe held sustainability in mind. “As we move forward, we want to highlight the consideration of sustainability in skateboarding footwear and apparel,” says Jarod, “(We want) to make it a part of every decision, from choosing materials to making patterns, et cetera.” The Janoski FL showcases that consideration in everything from using shoe laces and tongue label made from recycled materials to the minimally embroidered Swoosh on the side panel, each element of the shoe was inspected to see if it could be lighter, use less or use recycled materials.

But this is just the beginning, Jarod and the rest of the SB design team see the Janoski FL as just the first step on a long road toward making sustainable skate shoes and apparel. “Already I’m seeing designers starting to find ways to maximize the use of recycled materials across all components of a shoe, employing methods of make that use less energy, or looking at materials that use less to produce...it’s not all super obvious, and you may not even know it’s there, but it’s the right thing to do and we’re trying to do more of it all the time.”

Article appears on NikeSB.com (9/7/20)