Nike’s Aero-FIT: A Breakthrough Cooling Technology Made From 100% Textile Waste
Nike has introduced Aero-FIT, its most advanced cooling technology to date, engineered to deliver more than double the airflow of traditional Nike athletic apparel and help athletes perform at their peak in increasingly extreme conditions. Designed to move more air between skin and fabric, Aero-FIT enhances sweating efficiency and keeps athletes dry as temperatures rise.
In a major sustainability milestone, Aero-FIT is also Nike’s first elite performance apparel made entirely from textile waste, achieved through advanced chemical recycling that produces recycled polyester yarn equal in quality to virgin material. This breakthrough underscores Nike’s long-standing commitment to reducing its environmental footprint and helping athletes adapt to the realities of climate change.
Aero-FIT will make its global debut in the football kits worn by Nike federations during the biggest sporting event of 2026, before expanding across the brand’s sport-led product lineup.
Positioned as more than just high-performance apparel, Aero-FIT reflects Nike’s pinnacle expression of cooling innovation. Its airflow-first design is built around elliptical mesh zones, featuring lighter, strategically placed mesh to deliver targeted ventilation in high-heat areas. These zones create functional airflow channels developed from scratch to manage heat on the pitch and beyond.
According to Janett Nichol, VP of Apparel & Advanced Digital Creation Studio Innovation, “Nike exists to make athletes better and our breakthrough Aero-FIT technology delivers the future of our industry-defining apparel innovation in both elite performance and sustainability at scale.”
The innovation was refined through extensive wear testing by hundreds of athletes across diverse conditions. Their feedback confirmed improvements in cooling performance, comfort and freedom of movement.
Nike designers integrated sport science, computational design, digital blueprints and advanced manufacturing in the development of Aero-FIT, using heat-mapping and motion data to inform every detail from yarn tuning to precise mesh placement. The result is apparel created with stitch-level accuracy and validated to Nike’s highest technical standards.
“We observed the data, unpacking how air moves around the body, and mapped that airflow with sport-specific designs,” Nichol says. “We’re incredibly proud that our jerseys worn next summer will feel light, unrestrictive and comfortable for an entire match. That’s the kind of comfort that helps an athlete stay completely focused for 90-plus minutes.”
Aero-FIT is part of a broader wave of Nike innovation, joining new technologies across Therma-FIT apparel, mind-science tools and powered footwear, all underscoring the brand’s commitment to athlete-centred innovation in a world where heat and humidity are setting new challenges for sports.
