Nike athletic shoes are assembled using adhesives (Section 12.14). Up to around 1990, the adhesiv...
Nike athletic shoes are assembled using adhesives (Section 12.14). Up to around 1990, the adhesives used contained petroleum-based solvents which pose health hazards to humans and contribute to petrochemical smog. In order to improve this situation, the company worked with chemical suppliers to successfully develop water-based adhesive technology, which is now used for the majority of the as- sembly operations. As a result, solvent use in all manufacturing operations in Nike's subcontracted facilities in Asia was reduced by 67% since 1995. In 1997, 3157 x 103 Litre of hazardous solvents were replaced with 1290 tons of water- based adhesives. As another example, the rubber outsoles of the shoe were made by a process that resulted in a significant amount of extra rubber around the periphery of