Hasta La Ideas

Nike walked—make that sprinted—away with Best in Show honors at the 2009 International Design Excellence Awards (IDEA) competition. Following in the footsteps of the iPhone (a 2008 IDEA Best in Show winner) is Nike Trash Talk, the first performance basketball shoe made from manufacturing waste. The upper is zig-zag-stitched bits of leather and synthetic leather waste from the factory floor, while the mid-sole uses scrap-ground foam from factory production, and the rubber outer sole incorporates material from footwear manufacturing waste. And the shoebox? Recycled cardboard, of course. Designed by the Nike team of Kasey Jarvis, Andreas Harlow, Fred Dojan, and Dan Johnson, the Trash Talk debuted last year on the feet of eco-minded Phoenix Suns guard Steve Nash (hence the sunny colorways). “High concept, aesthetics, and performance—in combination with a smart and comprehensive eco-manufacturing methodology—make this shoe the holy grail of conscious consumption,” noted juror Valerie Casey, head of digital experiences and networked culture at IDEO. “Karmic debt still outstanding, but this is a huge down payment.”

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