'Nike Refurbished' To Help Reduce Its Waste Footprint

(RTTNews) - Nike Inc. (NKE) has launched Nike Refurbished, a program to refurbish sneakers and put them back on sale with lower price tags. An attempt by the sports footwear and apparel giant to reduce consumer waste and its negative impact on the environment.

The Beaverton, Oregon-based company said it would tidy up a shoe which is returned, and categorize them under three categories-- like-new, gently worn, and cosmetically flawed. The company will resell them at "a great value for consumers" at certain Nike stores. To qualify for refurbishment, a shopper needs to need to be return a pair of shoes to Nike stores within 60 days of purchase.

Nike said its team uses a number of different products and tools to return shoes to as close to new condition as possible. Once the shoes land back in a Nike store, the price is based on footwear type and condition grade. Nike Refurbished footwear is also covered by Nike's 60-day wear test.

Nike Refurbished will be available at launch in up to 15 U.S. Nike stores. The company plans to extend the refurbishing initiative to other markets as well.

Refurbishing returned sneakers will reduce a significant amount of landfill waste and save environment.