Space Hippie is an exploratory footwear collection inspired by life on Mars—where materials are scarce and there is no resupply mission. Created from scraps, or “space junk,” Space Hippie is the result of
sustainable practices meeting radical design.
Nike’s new, exploratory collection, aptly named Space Hippie, highlights the NASA-inspired concept of in-situ resource utilization — the idea of using space-based resources during deep space exploration. By taking the company’s own “space junk” from the floors of its manufacturing warehouses, Nike is turning waste into feedstock, creating a sustainable sneaker that combines high performance with low impact.
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The Space Hippie shoes are assembled using recycled “space junk”, such as recycled plastic water bottles, T-shirts and yarn scraps. The “Crater Foam” tooling is made up of a combination of Nike Grind rubber and recycled foam materials. According to Nike, every aspect of the Space Hippie line was chosen with sustainability in mind, from the material to the production methods to the packaging. The new shoes boast the lowest carbon footprint score compared to the company’s other products.
The collection includes four different shoe designs, appropriately named Space Hippie 01, 02, 03 and 04, and the styles are nothing short of unique. The sustainable sneakers feature gray bodies with complementary orange elements, including the iconic Nike Swoosh. Nike doesn’t seem to be shying away from the fact that these shoes are essentially made from trash, yet the design is still quite compelling, fashion-forward and (unsurprisingly) futuristic.
Nike recently unveiled the collection, which will be released in Spring 2020 to Nike members at Nike House of Innovation flagship locations and select retailers around the country.
Nike, as a business, has a lot to gain from recycled footwear. “We must think about the entire process: how we design it, how we make it, how we use it, how we reuse it and how we cut out waste at every step,” said Seana Hannah, vice president of sustainable innovation at Nike. “These are the fundamentals of a circular mindset that inform best practices.”
Images via Nike
