Nike is arguably the most popular tennis shoes brand in the world, selling millions in over 100 countries. But the company isn’t immune to its impact on the environment. Nike shoes are made primarily of leather and animal products are one of the biggest climate change factors.

Late last year Nike introduced “flyleather”, an environmentally friendly, fashion forward textile intended for their more iconic sneakers. According to Nike, with flyLeather they can reduce waste and maintain the performance, look and feel of 100% leather for athletic use.

“The earth is the athlete’s biggest playground, so one of our greatest opportunities is to create breakthrough products while protecting our planet,” the company’s chief sustainability officer, Hannah Jones, said in a statement. “Nike flyleather is an important step toward ensuring athletes always have a place to enjoy sport.”

The first Air Force 1 flyleather sneaker designed by artist Steve Harrington dropped during Earth Day in New York City. Nike posted the new design to Instagram.

Since the drop, *A Cold Wall designer Sam Roth partnered with Nike using their flyleather to design the latest, iconic Air Force 1. It is one of the first sustainable Air Force 1 editions and its value is guaranteed to appreciate within the sneaker head community.

To create “flyleather” Nike rescues discarded leather from tanneries, reducing it to fibers. Then, they combine the fibers with a polyester blend. The Nike flyleather is 50% recycled leather and uses 90% less water during manufacturing. Too, flyleather’s carbon footprint is half that of traditional leather. Oh, and it’s also 40% lighter and 5x more abrasion resistant than full grain leather.

Recently Nike released a classic design called “The Cortez” and it is available right now.

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