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NIKE’S
Swoosh is one of the most ubiquitous symbols in the
history of mankind. It’s right there with the Golden
Arches, the peace sign, and the Heroes’ helix if Tim
Kring’s blockbuster television series continues to sweep
the world off its feet with its psychological thriller
take on the superhero genre.
The
Swoosh begat the Jumpman, Li’l Penny, Mr. Robinson’s
Neighborhood, and the LeBrons to conjure images of
sneaker murders (where punks murder people to steal
their Jordan kicks), sweat shops in Asia, environment
unfriendly shoes where the carcinogenic and toxic
content in its manufacture will hasten the death of the
planet ala Dean Devlin’s The Day After Tomorrow.
Before
you think we’re inciting the burning of shoes or a
boycott—I’m clinging on to my Huarache’s and they’ll
have to pry them from my cold dead fingers—salvation is
at hand for the company that changed advertising, sports
marketing, and the way we look at athletes forever.
Nike
Considered, the line of these eco-friendly shoes, may be
one blatant sales pitch but it’s certainly interesting
to check out. This shoe line sprung from the experiments
in the Innovative Kitchen where Tinker Hatfield (the
genius behind the Air Jordans), Steve McDonald and
company used recycled materials, snap-together tools,
and water-based adhesives to create some nifty designs.
If
you’re the type who needs to be satisfied with a
product’s adherence to environmental precautions then
know that these shoes use vegetable-tanned leather that
eliminates toxic chromium when it turns into waste. They
are designed for easy component disassembly when it
comes to recycling and have no use for adhesives that
are harmful to human workers.
Now lest
you think I’ve cribbed notes from the product manual,
let’s slip our feet into one of the products out of the
Considered assembly line… The Soaker. The bad name
aside, it’s a modern-day cross-trainer. The Soaker
strikes a balance between street and outdoor wear making
it perfect for water-sports such as rafting, yachting,
kayaking, or even walking. It has portholes to drain
water and waffles on the sole to provide traction. And
it’s comfortable and stylish.
A word
on the traction… the sole is composed of 0.44 rubber
compound or “sticky rubber” that works well on a variety
of surfaces.
On
another front, Nike has plunged into the digital music
arena with a partnership with Apple Computer Inc. to
come up with the Nike+iPod sports kit. This isn’t Nike’s
first foray into digital music. A few years ago, they
were working in concert with Philips to produce the
MP3Run (or the “hockey puck” as people affectionately
called it), a flash-based player that plays music but
tells you how far you’ve run. It was recalled after a
number of glitches. And now Nike has tied up with
Apple’s revolutionary iPod—arguably the second-most
influential proponent of digital music after Napster—for
what is projected to be a better digital workout.
The
Nike+ is compatible only with a select line of running
shoes (Air Zoom Plus, Nike Shox Turbo V+, Nike Air Zoom
Vomero+, Air Span+, Air Max Moto+, and Air Max 180+)
outfitted with a sensor in the midsole that communicates
information to an iPod nano. The runner gets instant
audio feedback including time, distance, speed, calories
burned; info that is instantly calculated on the run and
can later be stored on your computer! If this is where
sneakers are heading then I won’t be surprised if one
day they’ll be outfitted with GPS that will point you
toward the nearest pizza joint (so much for burning all
those calories).
I don’t
know if you remember that mid-1990s Nike ad where the
copy reads something to this effect: Until the car.
Until that lamppost. Until the next corner. And so on.
It was a creative way of interpreting the shoe’s
timeless tagline of Just Do It. And having the music
playing and having your run monitored and measured will
push you even harder.
And
musically, the iPod tie-up sounds (pun intended) better
since the MP3Run contained only 125 songs, a serious
concern for the audiophile.
No doubt
Nike’s latest push will have an impact on consumer
thinking with its younger and irreverent mindset or even
product design for the future. Digital music is making
inroads everywhere initially with personal computers and
now with mobile phones and portable players. Nike
Considered’s mission on the other hand is fairly
straightforward: Design products that deliver more with
less yet that pay equal attention to performance and
sustainability. The footwear is lighter yet retains its
shelf life durability.
Now if
it only costs less.
The author has a nonsports blog at
http://the11-25pages.blogspot.com/ |
