As one of the world’s largest sports brands, Nike is in a unique position to play a significant role in creating a more sustainable world. Nike has taken on this monumental responsibility by relentlessly pursuing its waste-reducingMove to Zeropolicy. The company's ultimate goal is zero carbon and zero waste, all in an effort to help protect the future of sport.
“Athletes around the world are telling us that climate change is impacting them and their ability to perform at their best,” Seana Hannah, VP Sustainable Innovation, NIKE, Inc., said in a statement shared with Upworthy. “As part of our commitment to serve the athletes by offering more sustainable options and meeting our bold, science-based impact targets, we’re introducing a material innovation that can be adapted to different lifestyle and performance purposes.”
Over five years of research went into the development of Nike Forward and the company believes the positive environmental effects will be well worth the wait.
The all-newNike Forward platformis the brand’s latest advancement in over 30 years of sustainability-minded innovations, and the most significant Nike apparel innovation sinceDri-Fit.The proprietary technology is based on engineering innovations that deliver big results.
In short, Nike hacked existing needle punching machinery to connect multiple thin layers by entangling them together to make a new, uncompromising performance-ready textile.
The total of Forward’s innovations reduces carbon output by an average of 75% compared to traditional Nike fleece. This is achieved using 70% recycled content by weight, solution-dyed fibers rather than traditional dye methods and the lower material basis weight of Forward. In plain language, the process is much simpler than traditional knit or woven processes, drastically reducing the number of resources needed to create the material.
But Forward isn’t just about reducing environmental impact during the manufacturing process. For the launch pieces, the brand also considered the end of its garments’ lives by removing metal zippers and aglets so they’re easier to recycle.
“Sustainability sits at the foundation of Nike’s business, and we believe circularity is the future of sustainability, “John Donahoe, CEO, NIKE, Inc. said in a statement.
The sustainability of the Forward platform has the potential to significantly reduce the company’s carbon footprint for years to come. In keeping with Nike’s goals, Forward looks to “make the world better for athletes” while also being a superior product that “makes athletes better.”
Forward’s multiple thin-layer construction makes for warm and lightweight garments, and the flexibility of the platform will allow Nike to create a custom experience for athletes where materials can be adjusted to meet their unique needs.
via Nike
The first Forward garment that athletes across the world will be able to experience is an iconic grey hoodie, as Nike calls it, “the uniform of sport and style around the globe.” The Forward hoodie is manufactured using zero water in the dyeing and finishing processes. The company believes it’s a rare product where sustainability doesn’t come with sacrifices in comfort, style, or performance.
The hoodie is just the start of the Forward movement for Nike. "Today, it's a hoodie. Tomorrow, it could be anything,” Aaron Heiser, VP of global apparel product merchandising, said in a video produced by Nike.
The hoodie will help introduce the world to Nike’s latest revolution that it hopes will make an impact that will be felt for years to come.
For Nike, it’s just the latest advancement in the brand’s culture of innovation that underscores its commitment to taking action in creating a better world.
“We believe this platform has the potential to reset the way we think about material and apparel,” Aaron Heiser, Nike’s VP of global apparel product merchandising, said in a statement. “This is the biggest Nike apparel innovation since Dri-Fit 30 years ago and has huge potential to transform the industry in the way that Air and Flyknit did for Nike footwear.”
Nike Forward will launch in North America on September 29, 2022. Shop the collection atnike.com/nikeforward.
A new program from Norway shows that when you educate people and give them the ability to make sustainable choices, many will do the right thing.
Oda, the most popular online grocer in Norway (formerly known as Kolonial.No), wanted to cut its CO2 emissionsin half by 2025. To reduce its carbon footprint, the company switched from plastic bags to paper boxes and upgraded its delivery vans to electric. But those changes weren’t drastic enough to hit its goal.
The company then took a hard look at its biggest source of carbon emissions, its own products. It knew that the only way it could make a real impact would be by changing the food its customers purchase and consume.
“Our customers told us that they find it close to impossible to know what is climate-friendly. We thought it was an important challenge to solve so we started looking for easy ways to communicate emissions,” Louise Fuchs, sustainability director at Oda, said according toYahoo News.
“We do not want to point fingers and tell our customers what to buy and what to avoid,” she added. So the company decided to create climate receipts that not only show the food's cost in kroners but CO2 emissions, too.
Oda rated the CO2 emissions of its products and grouped them into four different categories: low, medium, high and very high. Here’s an example of the carbon footprint of various foods that Oda sells.
The graph is eye-opening because it shows the high price that we pay as a species for our reliance on eating red meat. Conversely, it shows why eating fruits and vegetables is a better choice for the planet.
According toThe Guardian, meat production is responsible for 57% of all food production emissions. While only 29% comes from the cultivation of plant-based foods.
After checking out, customers now can see how their grocery shopping affects their carbon footprint.
Oda’s new program has been a resounding success because its customers have made huge changes in their shopping habits after realizing how they affect the planet. “Our customers already bought buy more than 50 percent more fruit and veg than the average consumer and meat substitutes are growing 80 percent year-on-year since we added the carbon receipts,” Fuchs said.
“Lentil soup was one of our top ten sold recipes last year—the previous years it was nowhere near the top ten,” she added.
Oda’s simple, but effective plan to educate its customers is a great way to encourage people to make planet-positive choices. It’s also commendable because the company is clearly putting the planet before profit by prioritizing sustainability.
It looks like the idea is catching on.
“We were the first in Norway to create the climate receipt and a year after we have seen examples of other grocers following the trend. This is great news for the consumers and we hope more will follow,” Fuchs said.
There are a lot of people that want to do more to help the planet, but they're not sure how. Oda’s receipts empower the average person by giving them the information they need to make climate-friendly choices on a regular basis. Let’s hope this idea catches on in other countries so that more people are encouraged to shop and eat more sustainably.
Zoologist and photographer Conor Ryan spotted 1,000 fin whales in one spot.
Conor Ryan has seen his fair share of whales, and his Twitter handle—@whale_nerd—isn't just a cutesy nickname. Ryan was just 14 years old when he published his first peer-reviewed scientific paper on killer whales with his best friend, Peter Wilson, in 2001. As awildlife photographer, a zoologist specializing in marine biology and an expert in baleen whales and small cetaceans, he knows when he's looking at something special in the sea.
In other words, when Conor Ryan says his mind is "completely blown" by a whale sighting, you know it's a big deal. Seeing 1,000 fin whales at once? That's a very big deal.
Fin whales are the second-largest animal in the world, second only to the blue whale. In the 20th century, fin whales were hunted to near extinction before commercial whaling was outlawed. Nearly 725,000 were killed in the Southern Hemisphere alone in the mid- 1900s, and though whaling is no longer a threat, fin whales arestill on the endangered species list.
Fin whales get their name from an easy-to-spot fin on their backs. Imagine seeing 1,000 of any endangered species in one location, much less 1,000 of these 85-foot, 80-ton whales all feeding in a single location.
Ryan captured the scene on film and shared it on Twitter, writing, "We found about 1000 fin whales over a 5x5 mile area off South Orkney. Blue and humpback also mixed in. Mind completely blown." The video shows a cluster of whales spouting as far as the eye can see.
We found about 1000 fin whales over a 5x5 mile area off South Orkney. Blue and humpback also mixed in. Mind completely blown @LindbladExp #NationalGeographicEndurancepic.twitter.com/xtdvexXwI5
According toThe Guardian, Ryan spotted the whales from the National Geographic Endurance polar cruiser, in an area between the South Orkney Islands and the Antarctic peninsula. Their ship was in an area with four large krill fishing vessels, which explains the feeding frenzy.
Ryan said it might be "one of the largest aggregations of fin whales ever documented” and that his estimate of 1,000 whales was a conservative one.
“Words fail me,” Ryan told The Guardian. “I have seen maybe 100 fins here before in previous years. Thousands of chinstrap penguins, petrels, and albatrosses, too … It was unusually calm weather and unusually good visibility.”
Though commercial whaling laws have greatly reduced the decimation of whale populations we saw in the 1900s, whales still face threats from human activity. According toNOAA, the main threat to fin whales today is vessel strikes.Cargo and cruise boat shipshave increased in number in the past few decades, which increases the risk of running into whales, but they aren't the only ships that pose a threat. Last year, two dead fin whales had to be dislodged from the hull ofan Australian Navy shipafter it pulled into the naval pier in San Diego. The fact that they are still considered endangered means we have to stay vigilant about their protection.
But as author Philip Hoare wrote in The Guardian, "In a world constrained by woe and threats to democracy…1,000 fin whales can’t help but lift our hearts." Such a number is decidedly good news, which is always worth celebrating and which provides a beacon of hope that we can make impactful changes that help our planet when we choose to.
Earlier this month, Stephen Colbert blew humanity’s collective mind by showing a video of a female orangutan driving a golf cart. Not only was the ape an accomplished motorist but she drove in style with just one hand on the wheel, looking as cool and confident as any human.
While Colbert joked that the orangutan was in Florida, it was actuallypart of a menageriein Dubai belonging to Sheikha Fatima Rashed Al Maktoum, the daughter of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the prime minister of the United Arab Emirates.
The orangutan is named Rambo and has been driving various vehicles since she was young.
A YouTube user by the name ofSmelfordDipnoticed the ape’s cool one-handed driving technique and something clicked. She drives just like Tony Soprano in the iconic opening credits of “The Sopranos"! So he edited the video to mimic the sequence and added the show’s theme song "Woke Up This Morning" by Alabama 3.
Smelfordip named the video “The Zoopranos” and asks “What if Tony Soprano was [a] monkey?” in the video’s description.
Zoopranos
The only thing that could take this incredible mashup of an unbelievable video to the next level would be to invite Rambo to New Jersey, throw her behind the wheel of a Cadillac, give her a very large cigar and let her cruise the turnpike in a Cadillac.
Registered nurse Jennifer Smith, 41, struck up a close friendship with John Burley, 60, at the adult daycare program at the Grand Rehabilitation and Nursing Center in Rome, New York, before he was moved from the facility.
While he was under Smith’s care for pneumonia and a lung condition, he would often show her photos of his dog, Boomer, which he adopted 12 years ago.
Burley was later transferred to the rehabilitation wing of the hospital, leaving no one to care for Boomer, so he had the dog taken to the pound. Burley had moved to New York from Arkansas, where his family lived, and he had no one to look after Boomer.
Smith heard the news from Burley in an early morning call.
"I came into work the Monday after Thanksgiving to the phone ringing at 7 a.m.,"Smith told CNN."John was calling from his hospital room saying, 'Boomer is in the pound! Boomer is in the pound!' Boomer is John's world."
The problem was that Smith had no idea where Boomer had been taken. She looked up local facilities, made some calls and learned he was taken to the Rome Humane Society.
"I was a little panicked because I didn't know how long he had been in the shelter or if he had already been adopted to another family. It's Christmas time and people get animals," she said.
Smith wasted no time in going to retrieve the dog.
The nurse located Boomer in a large cage at the back of the shelter and asked if she could adopt him right there on the spot. He wasn’t ready to leave the shelter just yet but she got the guarantee she’d be able to adopt him and then called Burley, one of her favorite patients, to tell him the good news.
"She went right to the Rome Humane Society that day and paid the adoption fee, took him to the vet, and went on a shopping spree for food, crate, toys, and doggy clothes. He is very spoiled," Kimberleigh Hare from The Grand Rehabilitation and Nursing at Rometold Newsweek.
Soon after she got Boomer home she began bringing the dog to the facility to see Burley, who now gets to hang out with his beloved pooch a few times a day. "It helps John with the healing process and gives him peace of mind," Smith said.
The other residents at the hospital love to spend time with Boomer, too.
“I can see why John loves his dog so much," Smith toldSpectrum News."Boomer is fantastic. I walk through the halls with him on the wings and all the residents that are in the hallway, they instantly smile. I let each of them pet Boomer.”
Although no one is certain when Burley will make it home, Smith has promised to take care of the dog as long as need be. “I made a promise to John to take care of Boomer. I will take care of him as long as he needs me to. John knows that. Right now the focus is on John getting better and taking it one day at a time,” she told CNN.
Even though Burley has difficulty speaking, he only needs three words to describe how he feels about Smith: "I love Jennifer."
Tory Burch and Upworthy have partnered to honor incredible women making an impact this year.
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"There are two powers in the world; one is the sword and the other is the pen. There is a third power stronger than both, that of women.” — Malala Yousafzai
When women are encouraged to nurture their gifts and empowered to embrace their ambitions, they can truly change the world for the better. Upworthy and Tory Burch partnered this year to help women do just that by honoring amazing women for their contributions and giving them $5,000 on behalf of the Tory Burch Foundation to donate to a non-profit of their choice.
Meet the 14 women who have been honored in 2021 for their diverse commitments to making the world a more hopeful, healthy, and just place.
Victoria Sanusi: Destigmatizing Mental Health
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Victoria Sanusi started theBlack Gals Livin'podcast with her friend Jas in 2018. Victoria and Jas chat about various things, but listeners especially appreciate how the podcast destigmatizes mental health. “I think perhaps for our listeners, hearing someone who looks like them experiencing low moods, depression, and anxiety makes them feel less alone,” she says. Sanusi donated her $5,000 to theBlack LGBTQIA+ Fund, which helps fund therapy sessions for people in the Black LGBTQIA+ community.
Though 2021 has been a tough year for many, these impressive women and their organizations are giving back to their community in incredible ways. Empowered women inspire others, and if we want to see greater progress in our world, we need to empower more women.
Thankfully, that’s something we can all help with. Tory Burch and Upworthy are looking for more extraordinary women to honor, so if you know an empowered woman, nominate herhere. Learn more about Tory Burch and Upworthy's Empowered Women programhere.
Let’s all celebrate the amazing women in our lives and give them the gift of recognition they deserve.
A dumpster-diving TikTok user is taking stores to task for what they throw away.
Do you ever think about how we live in a world that is perfectly capable of producing enough food and basic necessities for every human on the planet, and yet there are still millions upon millions who don't have enough?
We do. It's weird and inhumane, but it's reality. There are multiple, somewhat complex reasons for this, of course, which don't justify but do explain it. However, the economics and logistics of making sure everyone has what they need don't need to be understood to recognize extreme, blatant, inexcusable waste.
A TikTok user who goes by @dumpsterdivingfreegan shares videos of what she finds in the dumpsters of grocery stores, and it's completely mind-blowing. Even if you already know that stores waste a lot of food, wait until you see what she finds. It's not just food that's at or near its expiration date, though there is a lot of that. She finds toiletries and household items—sometimes by the case, all brand new—just thrown into the dumpster.
Reply to @celester The same WF that throws out enough each night to feed a community😔. #dumpsterdiving #freegan #usa #dumpsterdiver #AEHolidayForever
Many of us would question pulling perishables from a dumpster, but if it's cold enough outside and you knew they'd been tossed recently, why not? In a logical world, these foods would only be thrown out because there was something wrong with them, but that does not seem to be the case.
In another video, she said she hasn't bought groceries in two years because she's able to get so much from dumpster diving.
Reply to @littlesquish18 yes, and it got SO much worse from there. #dumpsterdiving #freegan #dumpster #capitalism #usa #foodwaste #donatedontdump #fyp
She also says she donates far more than she keeps, and she does leave things behind for other people or homeless people to find. There is always plenty to go around.
She wipes down what she can with disinfectant and hasn't run into any issues with food being bad or anyone in her household getting sick from eating it.
When you see what and how much stores are tossing—perfectly good food that's not even at its best by date yet—it's understandable that she hasn't had to buy groceries. According toBusiness Insider,grocery stores are responsible for about 10% of the food waste in the United States.
Reply to @esotericaa the more I do this the more I don’t trust the system. #dumpsterdiving #freegan #MunchiesWithTubi #capitalism #usa #dobetter #fyp
But it's not just food.
Stores throw away all kinds of merchandise. According to this dumpster diver, many stores have a policy that they throw away cases of product if one item in the case gets broken. She has found cases of wine where just one bottle was broken. And check out this case of perfectly good plants that some people paid good money for:
Reply to @neo.spazzy I have found literally hindreds of plants in local store dumpsters🙃 #dumpsterdiving #planttok #paperwhite #freegan #dumpsterdive
And if perfectly good plants being tossed isn't enough to move you, how about toilet paper? That's right. The precious commodity that people were waiting in ridiculous lines for and rationing due to hoarding-induced-scarcity. But not just any toilet paper! The environmentally friendly bamboo kind that costs far more than toilet paper should, tossed into a dumpster for reasons none of us can guess.
Reply to @jobare007 yes! & I haven’t paid for to since BEFORE the pandemic for this reason🧍♀️#dumpsterdiving #part2 #MakeItCinematic #wholefoods #f
The irony of a store that sells all kinds of eco-friendly items throwing so much into landfills unnecessarily is enough to make your brain explode.
Why don't they donate this stuff instead of throwing it away?Yes. That is the million-dollar question.
Some stores do donate some or most of their overstocked or close-to-due-date items. But as we see here, the habit is not universal, it might vary from location to location, and some stores actually have policies against it for whatever reason. It seems reasonable in the modern world to expect perfectly good items to not end up in landfills when people are in need of them and when our Earth is already dealing with too much trash. It makes no sense.
You probably have dozens of questions for@dumpsterdivingfreeganand she answers tons of them in her videos and comments. I highly recommend perusingher TikTok channel, where she's really an open book about money and dumpster diving. While it's seriously shocking what she finds, it's equally interesting how she lives her life and organizes her finances.
And it will definitely motivate you to find out if stores in your area throw out merchandise and to encourage them to find a more humane and environmentally conscious way to process excess, because the waste in these videos is simply obscene.