They compete with one another as they work. "We're not creating a green product for nike trainers sale the sake of doing it, " he says. "We're creating a whole new way of design. " And the company is sharing what it is learning. In 2005, Nike debuted a sneaker without the toxic solvents long used to bind the sole to the shoe; the formula for the new adhesive is now available through the Green Exchange that Parker announced at the World Economic Forum in Davos this year. And in 2006, after a decade and a half of research and millions of research dollars, the company removed a greenhouse gas known as SF6 from its famous Air pockets.

There was no announcement. Parker has become a visible champion for nike air force 1 sustainable thinking and a quiet star at Davos, leading conversations with CEOs from giants such as General Mills, Kaiser Permanente, Renault Nissan, Swiss Re, Telstra even Facebook and Hunch. "Populations are exploding. Emerging markets are getting more power, " says Parker. Disruptive change is on everyone's mind. "There's this internalization of how critical it is to deal with sustainability. As we're out here trying to wave the flag, it's very satisfying to see that. ""And why the blankety blank are you now in the MP3 business? " Parker is telling stories at dinner, this one about a call he got from Apple's Steve Jobs. We are in a private dining room at one of Parker's favorite Portland restaurants. The waiter, also a bit of a pal, pops in periodically to check on us. And to chat up Parker. The waiter has six marathons under his belt, and he's feeling hinky about the seventh. "San Francisco next month, " he pauses. "Hills. " He feigns a shudder. Parker smiles. That his world shifts easily from waiters to Mr Cartoon to Lance Armstrong and back says a lot about the man. He is open, curious, and wanting to nike free run connect with people doing their thing.

"You'll do great, " he says. They talk strategy. Facing Jobs, however, Parker conceded defeat. Nike had partnered with Phillips in 2003 to make an MP3 player that would help connect a runner with music and his or her own workout stats distance, speed, calories, and so on. "Nobody remembers it, but it was a best seller at the time, " says Parker. One look back at the online reviews explains why nobody remembers it. Jobs called Parker and didn't mince words: "Why are you doing this? It's not your core business! " Parker flew down to Cupertino for a face to face; what resulted from the meeting was Nike+, a nifty sensor that goes in the bottom of a running shoe and feeds workout stats to nike air max 90 huperfuse men an iPhone or iPod and through social networks.