Nike Waffle Racer 'Crater'
Colorway: Midnight Navy/Vapor Green/Black · Style code: DA4656-400 · Price: $1082 · Availability: Available now
More colorways: Nike Wmns Waffle Racer Crater 'Black' (DD2866-001) · Nike Wmns Waffle Racer Crater 'Bleached Aqua' (CT1983-400) · Nike Wmns Waffle Racer Crater 'Coconut Milk' (CT1983-105) · Nike Wmns Waffle Racer Crater 'Barely Volt' (CT1983-700) · Nike Wmns Waffle Racer Crater 'White Black' (CT1983-104)
Crater is Nike's name for a foam made partly from recycled material: in this application, virgin foam blended with about eleven percent of the company's recycled rubber compound, sitting under an upper knitted from fully recycled polyester and above an outsole containing a similar recycled share. The seams are stitched in a visible zigzag rather than glued, which is both a manufacturing decision and a way of showing the construction. The base model is far older than any of that: the Waffle Racer descends from the outsole Bill Bowerman is said to have made by pouring rubber into a waffle iron, which put the company's early running shoes on the map. Applying the sustainability programme to that particular silhouette is not accidental. This version runs midnight navy with a vapor green accent and black through the sole, and the recycled speckle is visible in the midsole, which is arguably the whole point of the exercise.