Nike’s COVID-19 Response Includes Innovation & Working Closely with Suppliers

Quick Summary:

Nike’s leaders, the Nike Foundation and Nike have committed more than $17.5 million to COVID-19 response efforts around the world. Working closely with health professionals, Nike’s innovation, manufacturing and product teams have come together to provide for an urgent need: Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) in the form of full-face shields and powered, air-purifying respirator (PAPR) lenses to protect against the coronavirus (COVID-19). Nike is donating full-face shields and PAPR lenses to health systems across Oregon, along with health systems in the greater Boston, Memphis, Tenn., and St. Louis areas. 

Giving back to communities:

Nike’s leaders, the Nike Foundation and Nike have committed more than $17.5 million to COVID-19 response efforts around the world. The support includes funding efforts by the World Health Organization (WHO) and partners, as well as support for local response efforts in the communities around the world where Nike employees live and work. They are also supporting local organizations in global key cities as they work to meet immediate needs, such as food assistance and medical care.

Nike is also teaming up with its employees, providing a two-to-one match for all employee donations to support community organizations anywhere in the world. And it will continue to provide product support to local nonprofits and schools through Good 360 and other existing partners.

Using innovation to help:

Working closely with health professionals at Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU), Nike’s innovation, manufacturing and product teams have come together to provide for an urgent need: Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) in the form of full-face shields and powered, air-purifying respirator (PAPR) lenses to protect against the coronavirus (COVID-19). Nike is donating full-face shields and PAPR lenses to health systems across Oregon, along with health systems in the greater Boston, Memphis, Tenn., and St. Louis areas.

Nike is also making a donation to health systems in Cleveland, Ohio, near the home of Lubrizol, which has generously donated its ESTANE® thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) polymers to support the manufacturing of this PPE. In addition, Nike is donating 250,000 three-ply disposable face masks to New York State.

Nike will continue to seek ways to further support the courageous healthcare workers in their tireless efforts to support, heal and comfort our communities through these extraordinary times.

Play inside, play for the world:

Sport brings us together as a unifying force for good. And while many athletes may not be able to play as they normally would, Nike is committed to ensuring that communities all over the world can still turn to sport as a beacon of hope and resilience that inspires us all.

Today, athletes may not be playing in front of thousands in packed stadiums, but they can — and are — playing for millions by choosing to stay at home. Inspired by athletes who are playing in their kitchens, living rooms, driveways and garages, Nike recently launched a campaign, telling the whole world, “If you ever dreamed of playing for millions around the world, now is your chance.” Nike is encouraging everyone to #playinside and #playfortheworld, and delivering new ways to access sport during this unprecedented time at home.

Helping athletes* stay active through Nike platforms.

We all need new ways to keep moving and access sport. Through Nike’s digital ecosystem — the Nike app, the Nike Running Club app, the Nike Training Club app, social channels and Nike.com — Nike is providing athletes around the world with tools, motivation and affirmation to help fuel physical and mental health.

Nike is also offering NTC Premium, the Nike Training Club’s subscription-based service, for free in the U.S. The platform includes a library of more than 185 online workouts for all fitness levels, ranging in length (15- to 60-minutes), type (yoga, total body strength, core work, HIIT sessions, etc.) and equipment needs (bodyweight-only and more).

Helping kids stay active, too

Kids are Made to Play. That’s why Nike has made a commitment to get kids moving. Nike works with partners around the world to remove barriers to entry and offer play- and sport-based programming to 17 million kids. But balancing the need to keep kids moving with the need to keep communities safe is a challenge. Many of Nike’s Made to Play partners offer excellent resources to help kids stay active at home — because active kids do better in every way, no matter the circumstances. These include the UK’s Discovery Education, Marathon Kids, Active Schools, JUMP-JAM, and the How to Coach Kids Program.

Helping people stay active at home, together with the sporting industry

Nike collaborated with the World Federation of the Sporting Goods Industry (WFSGI) and other member companies to launch a physical activity guide to support the work of the World Health Organization (WHO) to promote physical activity. WHO’s #healthyathome campaign encourages people to stay active while at home during the COVID-19 crisis, and the guide provides resources to help.

Working closely with suppliers

Nike is working with suppliers to support their efforts in response to the dynamic and unprecedented nature of the COVID-19 situation. The evolving and challenging marketplace dynamics mean that Nike and its suppliers must make some difficult decisions in the short term, as they work together to mitigate longer-term impacts and develop sustained viability for their businesses and employees.

Nike continues to place orders, taking into account impacts of market dynamics. Nike will continue to pay in full for finished product from all suppliers globally, while honoring previously agreed payment terms for product in production. In the case of cancelled orders, Nike policies and agreements with suppliers are, and have always been, that Nike will pay the appropriate amount of the order, depending on the stage of production as communicated by their supplier to enable the supplier to recover costs associated with the canceled order. Nike is also working with industry organizations and other global stakeholders to develop broad based approaches to address the current situation and help people who work in supply chains globally.