In 1993, Nike took a proactive stance for the environment with the creation of a formal department called the Nike Environmental Action Team (N.E.A.T.). Nike's efforts focused on recycling and education to find more ways to reduce their environmental impact, not only in their day-to-day operations, but throughout every stage of their products life cycle. To further these efforts, Nike needed to conduct market research to assess the acceptability and preferences of the marketplace for a new apparel-related environmental initiative and a sustainable running shoe.

Nike hired PRR to design and conduct market research that included two national telephone surveys, and focus groups in four major U.S. geographic regions. For the focus group sessions, PRR coordinated participant recruitment, developed the moderator guides, moderated the focus groups, and prepared a PowerPoint report with embedded video sound bites to illustrate key findings. To measure public attitudes and opinions on a larger scale with regard to the proposed initiatives, PRR conducted national telephone surveys of 1,000 adults matched to year 2000 census demographics and 400 fitness enthusiasts. Information from the focus groups and telephone surveys provided Nike with critical information, and provided significant direction to their initiatives.