Nike shares big plans for China market

The Nike booth at the 5th CIIE in Shanghai. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Sports brand Nike has set a clear goal for sustainable innovation by fully utilizing renewable energy in their facilities by 2025, a top executive said on the sidelines of the fifth China International Import Expo.

"The first plan is green operation. We will fully utilize 100 percent renewable energy in our owned and operated facilities by 2025. Meanwhile, we have a logistics center in Taicang. At the beginning of next year, two wind power projects will be put into use. It should be said that this is a leading approach," said Xu Lin, head of social and community impact at Nike Greater China.

At the expo, Nike showcased the achievements of its "Recycle a Shoe" Program 2.0. More than 25,000 pairs of sneakers have been recycled online and offline since September.

The recycled shoes will be used to build more environmentally friendly sports facilities after being processed by Nike Grind technology.

"So far, 19 courts have been established through Nike Grind. Nike plans to build 100 courts in China by 2030 to help more children," Xu said, adding each stadium needs around 60,000 pairs of used shoes.

Nike also brought forth several innovative products at the CIIE, such as Nike Forward, Alphafly Next% 2, and Air Max Scorpion. The brand has participated in the CIIE for the third consecutive year.

"This year's theme is Innovation is Never Done," Xu. said "Products are our core. The new Nike Forward launched this year has completely broken the original knitting and weaving technology and is an innovation from materials to textiles."

Xu added green logistics and promoting green consumption by adopting simpler packaging will also be the brand's targets.