Sportings good giant Nike, together with apparel manufacturer Crystal
Group, have made it onto Fortune’s magazine ‘Change The World’ 2016
ranking. They are the only two apparel-related brands to make it into the
top fifty listing because of their sustainability efforts, with Nike
securing a spot in the top 10.
Fortune’s annual ranking seeks to highlight the top fifty across the world
which are working to ensure they have “a positive social impact
through activities that are part of their core business strategy.” They
look at several aspects, such as each company’s impact on the environment
and societal issues, the economic benefit the positive socially impactful
initiative may bring to company and how innovative the company effort is.
Nike came in 6th place for its ongoing sustainability efforts, which can be
traced back to 1990 when the US sportswear brand launches its first
recycled shoe program. At the moment, 71 percent of Nike’s footwear and
apparel products use ‘Nike Grind,’ which is made from recycled polyester
and other materials. It has also been incorporated in over 1 billion square
feet of sporting surfaces, such as running tracks, playground and football
fields, replacing materials such as virgin rubber.
In addition, Nike developers have been able to reduce production waste by
nearly 60 percent for every Flyknit shoe made in comparison to the
materials used making traditional shoes, saving close to 2 million pounds
of fabric-scrap waste since 2012. The sportswear giant has set itself new
targets for 2020 which include the sourcing of cotton 100 percent more
sustainably and reducing landfill waste.
The Crystal Group came in at number 17 on the ranking, thanks to its
sustainable practices it began implementing in 2007. The Hong-Kong based
company has worked hard to reduce its carbon emissions and energy usage
across all of its manufacturing facilities, while working to empower its
female employees through targeted training. “We want to raise the standard
for the whole industry,” said Catherine Chiu, the company’s general manager
of corporate quality and sustainability in a statement.