These Flyleather Jordan 1 SE trainers are one of the first examples of footwear made from the Flyleather material, developed by Nike as an alternative to new leather.

Flyleather was launched in New York City on 18th September 2017 to coincide with the start of Climate Week. The Flyleather material is made with recycled leather fibres that are melded together with a polyester blend. Leather waste such as scraps and off-cuts are crumbled into fibres and formed into a paste with the power of water jets. That paste is then rolled into sheets of ‘leather’, and any scraps that remain after cutting are added back to the scrap heap, creating a closed-loop cycle. It is manufactured in partnership with UK-based firm E-Leather. Flyleather was engineered specifically with the company’s long-term sustainability goals in mind. According to Hannah Jones, Nike’s chief sustainability officer, around 60% of the company’s environmental impact is linked to the materials that are used in manufacture. Standard leather production has significant environmental consequences, a substantial carbon footprint, and uses vast amounts of water and chemicals. Nike has calculated that out of all the fabrics they use in their products, leather has the second-highest negative environmental impact. Flyleather boasts a carbon footprint that is 80 percent smaller than traditional, full-grain leather and needs 90 percent less water to produce, according to Nike. The manufacturer E-leather states that the manufacturing process uses state of the art techniques which recycles 95% of the process water, and converts its own waste streams into energy, which is then fed back into the process. The factory sends no waste to landfill. Flyleather, Nike says, is not only more flexible, but also 40 percent lighter than traditional full-grain leather, as well as five times stronger (gauged by resistance to abrasion).

Nike chose to use the new material on one of the brand's most traditional trainer designs, the Jordan 1.