Every year, across the globe, millions of pairs of athletic shoes end up in landfills or are disposed of in some other way. That’s a lot of shoes going to waste that contain valuable materials that could be re-used. So with a degree of imagination, some ingenious engineering and a persistent pursuit of the principles of sustainability, we created the Nike Reuse-a-Shoe program in 1993. Since then, we’ve recycled more than 20 million pairs of athletic shoes and contributed to more than 250 sport surfaces to provide access to places to play for kids as part of Let Me Play, Nike’s global community investment program.

Reuse-A-Shoe collects worn-out athletic shoes of any brand from a variety of sources, including end of life shoes collected through a variety of recycling programs, special events and at Nike or other stores, shoes that are returned to us from retailers due to a material flaw and even counterfeit shoes.

We also recycle much of our scrap material left over from the manufacturing of Nike footwear and together the shoes and shoe materials are ground up and purified to become a material we affectionately call Nike Grind– Nike Grind Rubber, Nike Grind Foam and Nike Grind Upper.

We then partner with industry-leading sports surfacing companies to incorporate Nike Grind into their quality sports surfacing product ranges – basketball and tennis courts, running tracks, soccer fields, fitness flooring and playground safety surfacing. Together, we’re working toward a common goal: to create the highest-quality sports surfaces available using the most innovative methods and advanced recycling technology.

After years of extensive research and development by Nike engineers, we’ve also found uses for the Nike Grind material in other areas of our business as well as the sports surface industry.

We then work with our Nike Grind partners to bring surface donations to underserved communities within the Let Me Play program which leverages the power of sport to change young peoples’ lives, build communities and create positive social change.”

Worn Out. Play On.