Environment Forum
Global environmental challenges
from Adam Pasick:
Nike, the albatross, and sustainable design
A dead baby albatross is a tough act to follow.
Nike's Lorrie Vogel took the stage at Poptech this week to talk about the company's sustainable product design efforts.
Immediately preceding her was an devastating presentation from photographer Chris Jordan, who shared a series of photographs from Midway Atoll of baby albatrosses who had died from ingesting plastic from the massive Pacific Garbage Patch.
Conference organizer Andrew Zolli, visibly moved, asked for a moment of silence and then Vogel took the stage to talk about her efforts as general manager of Nike's Considered team.
She was frank about the challenges that Nike and other manufacturers face, especially the company's reliance on petroleum-based polyester and resource-heavy cotton. It takes about 700 gallons of water and 1,100 square feet of land to produce the cotton for one Nike T-shirt.
from Adam Pasick:
Victims of the Pacific Trash Gyre
Midway by Chris Jordan
Have you ever seen 500 people stunned into a complete and devastated silence?
Photographer Chris Jordan shared a sobering tale of his journey to Midway Atoll with the Poptech conference on Thursday, where he captured horrifying images of baby birds killed by plastic from the Pacific Trash Gyre. The crowd, which had been listening to a day of Big Ideas, was dumbstruck.
