more Nike : PVC press

[ttweed@wildrockies.org (Tony Tweedale)]

Nike Pledges to Phase Out PVC Use As Part of Overall
Sustainability Mission. Daily Environment Report, August 27,
1998, ppA-1-2.

     A spokeswoman for the shoe manufacturer Nike Inc. said that
the company will stop using polyvinyl chloride in its products as
soon as alternatives to the chemical can be found. The move is
part of Nike's sustainability mission and will be followed by the
elimination of other chemicals in the future, said Dawn Leonetti,
Nike spokeswoman.
     "We want to weed out chemicals that are not sustainable,"
she said.
     Greenpeace praised the move saying that the manufacture and
disposal of PVC releases dioxin and other chemicals into the
environment.
     The executive director of the Vinyl Institute, Bob Burnett,
called the move "unfortunate." Although the use of PVC for shoe
manufacture is a small part of the market, the institute is
concerned because of the global visibility of Nike.
     Burnett says that the industry has done studies that show
the release of dioxins from PVC to be "very, very minimal."
     Leonetti says that the company has not yet identified an
alternative for the substance.  PVC is used in parts of Nike
shoes, including the "swoosh" logo, and is used as a laminate in
other products such as duffel bags.
     Other projects under Nike's sustainability efforts include
the reduction of VOCs in solvents that are used in Nike factories
and the construction of an ecologically friendly headquarters
building in Europe.