Nike partners with Newlight Technologies to reduce its carbon footprint

Biotechnology company Newlight technologies will support multinational sportswear corporation Nike to reduce the latter’s carbon footprint with the use of a carbon-negative biomaterial. This collaboration will explore the use of Newlight's biomaterial AirCarbon, an energy storage material a.k.a. polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB) produced by ocean microorganisms. Nike has made a conscious decision of accelerating their efforts to address the challenges of climate change by targeting materials usage, which accounts for majority of Nike's total carbon footprint. Newlight's technology uses ocean microorganisms that eat greenhouse gases and air to make AirCarbon, which is composed of 40 percent oxygen from the air and 60 percent carbon from greenhouse gases. AirCarbon can be melted into a varied forms such as fiber, sheet and solid shapes, opening doors to a range of possibilities.