Adidas Backs Sustainable Sportswear—Announcing That They Will Use More Than 50 Percent Recycled Polyester In Their Products In 2020

Image Courtesy of Adidas

Herzogenaurach Tue, 21 January 20  : This year Adidas reaches a significant milestone on the road to sustainability: In 2020, for the first time, more than half of the polyester used in Adidas products will come from recycled plastic waste.

From 2024 onwards, the company is committed to using only recycled polyester.

In 2020, Adidas also plans to produce a record 15 to 20 million pairs of shoes with plastic waste collected from beaches and coastal regions.

Last year, Adidas already produced more than eleven million pairs of such shoes.

The use of recycled plastic in products is part of the company's efforts to avoid plastic waste and stop the pollution of the world's oceans.

The increasing use of recycled materials is just one example of Adidas ' sustainability activities.

The spectrum ranges from using increasingly sustainable materials, waste prevention and new types of take-back programs for used products, to climate protection.

In 2020, Adidas will introduce new product categories based on sustainability criteria.

An Adidas Sustainability Overview:

• From 2024 onwards, Adidas will use only recycled polyester in every product and on every application where a solution exists. This year the share will already exceed 50 percent for the first time.

• In 2020, Adidas will produce 15 to 20 million pairs of shoes using recycled plastic waste from beaches and coastal regions. Last year, the figure was more than eleven million pairs, compared to five million in 2018 and one million in 2017.

• The first fully recyclable running shoe “Futurecraft Loop” has been in the test phase since 2019. The market launch is planned for 2021.

• Adidas is already working on the development of bio-fabricated materials for sports apparel and presented first prototypes for tennis wear prior to last year’s Wimbledon tournament.

• Avoiding plastic on the route to consumers: Adidas eliminated plastic bags from its stores in 2016 and will also use recycled packaging to deliver products to stores in the future.

• Plastic-free locations: adidas sites are now largely plastic-free. Around 40 tonnes of plastic waste are avoided each year.

• Since 2019, consumers in the UK have been receiving a voucher for the adid Adidas as online store when they return used but still functional products.

• In terms of climate protection, by 2030, Adidas will reduce greenhouse gas emissions from both its own activities and those of its suppliers by 30 percent compared to the year 2017.

• Climate neutrality is on the agenda for 2050.

• In Germany, the company already sources almost all its electricity from renewable sources.

• Workplace standards set mandatory requirements for fair working conditions, appropriate wages and a safe working environment at suppliers. 

Recycling And Use Of Sustainable Materials

In addition to increasing the use of recycled materials in production, Adidas is also working on making products easy to recycle with the goal of completely eliminating waste.

The first fully recyclable running shoe, “Futurecraft Loop”, is made from a single recyclable material from sole to laces and is fused together without the need for glue.

After an initial test phase with 200 athletes last year, the shoes were returned to Adidas and the company recycled them into components for new shoes.

This second generation of “Futurecraft Loop” shoes is already back in the testers’ hands. The market launch is planned for 2021. 

In the long term, products made from renewable raw materials will also make an important contribution to waste reduction.

Adidas and Stella McCartney presented the jointly developed prototype of a tennis dress made of bio-fabricated materials based on cellulose and protein prior to last year’s Wimbledon tournament.

In the coming years, Adidas will develop bio-fabricated products for its consumers. Reebok already uses renewable resources, including cotton, corn, algae and natural rubber to produce the Reebok Cotton + Corn and Reebok Forever Floatride Grow shoes.

Since 2018, Adidas has been sourcing 100 percent sustainably produced cotton, mainly from the Better Cotton Initiative.