Nike wants to clean your used, returned shoes and sell them at cheaper prices

CHICAGO: Nike Inc said on Monday it will start refurbishing sneakers - from Vapormaxes to Reacts - returned by shoppers and selling them at cheaper prices, a service offered increasingly by retailers to reduce consumer waste.

The Beaverton, Oregon-based company said it would clean up gently worn, like-new or slightly imperfect sneakers by hand and resell them "at a value for consumers" at certain Nike stores. To qualify for refurbishment, the sneakers need to be returned to Nike stores within 60 days of purchase.

"Up to fifteen U.S.-based stores will carry Nike Refurbished footwear by the end of April 2021, with plans to integrate more of this product at additional U.S.-based stores in the coming year," Nike said in a statement.


Nike is continuing to explore future expansion of the program to markets outside the United States.

Recently, Nike settled with a Brooklyn company that made 'Satan Shoes' in collaboration with the rapper Lil Nas X. The settlement with MSCHF Product Studio Inc resolves a trademark infringement lawsuit that Nike filed last week over the black-and-red, devil-themed sneakers, which carry the Nike "swoosh" logo and quickly sold out at $1,018 a pair.

Satan Shoes are customized versions of the Nike Air Max 97 sneakers, with midsoles purporting to contain a drop of human blood, and printed with "Luke 10:18," a reference to a Biblical verse that alludes to Satan's fall from heaven.

Only 666 pairs were made, with the last held back so Lil Nas X, known for the song "Old Town Road," could choose the recipient. Nike had said MSCHF will offer full refunds to purchasers of its Satan Shoes and Jesus Shoes, which were launched in 2019 and also based on the Air Max 97, "to remove them from circulation."