Advancing Cleaner Chemistry
Chemistry is essential to how we deliver performance and sustainability to all athletes*. We drive cleaner chemistry by verifying chemical inventories, characterising concerns and implementing alternatives when needed.
*If you have a body, you are an athlete.
Our cleaner chemistry approach is guided by our supplier code of conduct and code leadership standards (CLS), which require chemicals to be properly managed in each step of manufacturing. We require strict compliance with our NIKE, Inc. chemistry playbook & restricted substances list (RSL) and the ZDHC manufacturing restricted substances list (MRSL), which drive monitoring and controlling hundreds of substances across 35+ chemical classes.
In 2020, NIKE, Inc. identified ten chemistries for which the latest science indicated a need for cleaner chemistry alternatives and set about creating those alternatives. As of FY25, we have converted seven of our priority chemistries to cleaner chemistry alternatives.
Completed priority projects:
- Per- and Polyfluorinated chemicals (PFAS): a broad class of fluorine-containing substances used in water and stain repellent applications and some membrane materials.
- Zinc pyrithione (ZP): an antimicrobial treatment historically used as an anti-odour finish.
- Nonylphenol ethoxylates (NPEOs): a detergent once used in our industry and still used in some adjacent industries.
- Formamide: a by-product from the manufacturing of some foam materials.
- Organic solvents (VOCs): a broad class of chemicals that can be used as additives in applications such as adhesives, paint thinners, primers and surface cleaners.
- Formaldehyde: a solvent that has many cross-industry uses, including uses in adhesives, polymers and preservatives, and as a stabiliser in some inks and paints.
- Neoprene: used in applications needing rubber and foam properties, but it can contain substances that are problematic to some users.
Three priority efforts are still underway, with timelines extended beyond 2025, to build solutions that can scale and endure:
- Dimethylformamide (DMFa): an industrial solvent widely used in the manufacturing of synthetic leather, polyurethane (PU)-coated leather and PU skins. We aim to complete a transition to a cleaner alternative in the next three to five years.
- Bisphenol-free receipt paper: chemicals that can be used as a building block for some plastics or adhesives, and as a thermal printing additive. We aim to complete this elimination in the next one to two years.
- Dicumyl peroxide (DCP): a crosslinking agent for polymers that can be problematic in some environments when it breaks down. We are on a path to completion by the end of 2026.
Chemical management depends on visibility. Alongside our RSL and MRSL programmes, we are driving deeper insight into chemical use by scaling the ZDHC chemical inventory verification process across our most chemically intensive suppliers.
Though we've been advancing upstream chemical visibility for many years, the verified chemical footprint represents a significant leap forward. It provides a more robust and detailed picture of the chemistry being used inside the most chemically intensive facilities.
Better visibility leads to better decisions for athletes and consumers. More reliable data strengthens resilience for NIKE, Inc. and for our suppliers.
Visit Chemistry at Nike to learn more.