Once a company synonymous with overseas sweatshops and cheap labor, Nike wasn’t exactly what anyone would consider a model of environmental sustainability. In a PR move, the brand is making a move to change that reputation, starting the Nike Open Challenge for Sustainable Materials.

In partnership with Random Hacks of Kindness, an organization of developers and programmers that seeks to develop practical open technology, Nike is asking manufactures and innovators to utilize sustainable materials in accordance with the Nike Sustainable Materials Index. Essentially a microsite, the index allows makers of things to evaluate the materials they’re using according to environmental impact, from waste to water to energy.

Along with the challenge and microsite (Nike has money, y’all), the brand along with W+K and the latter’s in-house “Portland Incubation Experiment” kicked off the challenge with the above video. “The Making of Making” celebrates Portland denizens whose work results in strong, calloused hands, all the while making fun of those of us with desk jobs that leave us with silky smooth baby hands. The challenge officially launches on Saturday, so if you know anyone with creative ideas who has the know-how to give Nike a hand, visit the challenge’s Tumblr to get the details on the project and updates on submissions. Credits follow after the jump.

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