Portland, Ore.’s initiative to bring footwear manufacturing back to the U.S. just gained some crucial support.
Adidas former brand president Eric Liedtke and Nike former chief sustainability officer Noel Kinder will be joining the $125-million Made in Old Town project, the group announced Thursday.
Liedtke is known for pioneering Adidas’ circular sourcing and material innovation efforts under the Futurecraft program, probing the potential for automated, localized manufacturing with Germany- and U.S.-based “Speedfactories,” and solidifying the brand’s commitment to reducing ocean plastics.
Meanwhile, Kinder led several brand and product initiatives at Nike, pushing the No. 1 footwear brand to take on industry-leading environmental commitments. “The conventional model for global supply chains needs to be transformed,” he said. “Footwear manufacturing is ready for disruption, and I believe Made in Old Town has an important role to play in shaping the future, by enabling R&D and cross-industry collaboration.”
The first-of-its-kind initiative will revitalize nine buildings across four city blocks in Portland’s Old Town neighborhood, transforming vacant or underutilized historic buildings into a campus for sustainable footwear and sportswear production.
The vision for the 323,000-square-foot campus is mixed-use, with advanced manufacturing facilities, retail, logistics and housing living side-by-side. Alongside “anchor” manufacturing bodies like Asian textile supplier NTX, which announced its intention to partner with the University of Oregon’s (U of O) downtown offshoot on a new facility last year, and HILOS, the 3D-printing pioneer that has championed the project from the start, dozens of small businesses will also inhabit the space, from creative brands to tier-two suppliers.
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The campus’ flagship facility, dubbed the Footwear & Apparel Manufacturing Innovation Hub (FAMI), is slated to open its doors this fall along with two other buildings. According to the Made in Old Town project, FAMI provides a quick “on-ramp” for manufacturers bent on scoping out Portland as a home. The facility will give their research and development teams access the regional ecosystem of brands and talent, industry and community events, workforce training and development and academic partnership with institutions like U of O.
Ellen Schmidt-Devlin, co-founder and executive director of the U of O Sports Product Management Program, told Sourcing Journal in the spring that she expects the new manufacturing hub to become a resource for students and new graduates looking for internships and jobs, given the new influx of manufacturers putting down roots and its proximity to hundreds of Oregon-based brands.
The Made in Old Town project is managed by the Perpetual Purpose Trust Stewardship Committee, which was erected to ensure assets are put toward equitable neighborhood development and sustainable manufacturing innovation. Liedtke and Kinder will join the Committee, and will serve alongside HILOS CEO Elias Stahl.
“This is an incredibly unique moment for the industry and for the city,” Stahl told Sourcing Journal. “An entire generation of industry pioneers that built the brands we love are now focused on the future of not just one brand but the whole industry and the city they love. This opportunity comes along once in a lifetime, and we intend to seize it.”
“The industry is taking an important step towards a more sustainable future—and Portland is where that innovation will happen,” Kinder said.
This article has been updated to reflect comments from Elias Stahl.