Adidas is really committed to sustainability. As they add on their website, they work to thoroughly track the progress of their environmental initiatives as well as the impacts against their targets.

Adidas established a detailed environmental data recording and reporting system. All which includes 72 sites. It covers 90% of their internal environmental footprint. Every year they publish a special Green Company Performance Analysis. One that shows their yearly and overall achievements!

 

 

Sustainable Hardcore

As a result, Adidas has been included in the Dow Jones Sustainability Indices (DJSI). It evaluates the sustainability performance of the 2,500 largest companies listed in the Dow Jones Global Total Stock Market Index.

Recently, Adidas reported the building upon their cotton + corn lifestyle collection from 2018. Now Reebok Forever Floatride GROW has launched and It’s said to be the first ever plant-based running shoe.

Its design replicates the silhouette of the brand’s Forever Floatride energy model, but now pairs sustainability with high performance. As they reduce their use of petroleum-based plastics, Reebok’s new design has been made with castor beans, algae, eucalyptus trees and natural rubber, which are all sustainably sourced.

But, the Dow Jones Index is again the comprehensive assessment. It considers factors such as:

1. corporate governance

2. risk management

3. climate change mitigation

4. labor and environmental standards.

Mind you, that’s both within the company and with its suppliers. That’s as well as innovation management.

Not only has Adidas once again made the indices, but it ranks best in the industry. That’s in the criteria of Brand Management, Information Security/Cyber Security & System Availability. As well as Environmental Policy & Management Systems, Operational Eco-Efficiency and Social Reporting. Finally, Talent Attraction & Retention too.

Even More Sustainability

The giant sportswear manufacturer continues to become ever more sustainable. By 2020, they expect to use more sustainable materials, tackle water scarcity in manufacturing countries and further improve working conditions in the supply chain. Additionally, they have not used plastic bags in its own stores since 2016. It sources only sustainably produced cotton since 2018 and also presented the world’s first fully recyclable running shoe this year.

In the “Textiles, Apparel & Luxury Goods Industry”, Adidas was rated as industry leader in corporate economic, environmental and social dimensions. Furthermore, the company was rated industry best in seven criteria: Innovation Management, Materiality, Supply Chain Management, Human Rights, Environmental Policy and Management Systems, Operational Eco-Efficiency, Social Reporting.

From 2024 onwards, Adidas will only use recycled polyester in every product. That’s on every application where a solution exists.

Recycled Plastic Sneakers

In 2018 Adidas produced more than five million pairs of shoes containing recycled plastic waste. The company now plans to more than double that figure this year.

That’s the outcome of the cooperation between the sporting goods manufacturer and environmental organizations. Additionally, the partnership with the global collaboration network, Parley for the Oceans. Together, they turned marine pollution into sneakers and sportswear. Adidas sold one million pairs of shoes made from Parley Ocean Plastic™ in 2017 and plans to sell five million pairs in 2018.

As part of its sustainability strategy – launched in 2016 – the company translates its sustainable efforts into tangible goals and measurable objectives until 2020. Among its key priorities are: using more sustainable materials in its production, tackling the ever-growing issue of water scarcity and the empowerment of its supply chain workers.

1. In 2015 Adidas partnered with Parley for the Oceans to turn marine pollution into sportswear.

Adidas uses recycled plastic bottles as a replacement for virgin polyester.

In 2019 Adidas expects to make 11 millionpairs of shoes with Ocean Plastic.

But as Business Insider added:

Following is a transcript of the video.

Narrator: Adidas makes over 400 million pairs of shoes every year. Manufacturing that many shoes requires a lot of resources. But constantly creating new materials isn’t great for the environment so Adidas is turning to a different source.

Experts predict that in 30 years, there will be more plastic in our oceans than fish. And one study estimates that 90% of seabirds have consumed some form of plastic waste. All that pollution on beaches and in oceans is harmful to both marine life and humans.

So, Adidas is trying to stop some of that plastic before it reaches the ocean. In 2015, they partnered with the environmental organization Parley for the Oceans. Their goal? To turn marine pollution into sportswear. And they’ve made huge progress.

In 2019, Adidas expects to make 11 million pairs of shoes with recycled ocean plastic. That’s more than double what it made in 2018. Adidas says the partnership has prevented 2,810 tons of plastic from reaching the oceans.

But, how does Adidas make sustainable shoes?

It all starts at the beach. Parley and its partners collect trash from coastal areas like the Maldives. They sort the waste then send recovered plastic to an Adidas processing plant. Generally, they use plastic bottles that contain polyethylene terephthalate, or PET. Obsolete Materials like caps and rings go to normal recycling facilities.

The processing plant crushes, washes, and dehydrates the waste, leaving nothing but small plastic flakes. The flakes are heated, dried, and cooled, then cut into small resin pellets. Normally, polyester is made from petroleum. But Adidas melts these pellets to create a filament. All which is spun into what they call Ocean Plastic. That’s the form of polyester yarn.

The company uses Ocean Plastic to form the upper parts of shoes and clothing like jerseys. Each item in the Parley collection is made from at least 75% intercepted marine trash.

In addition, they still meet the same performance and comfort standards of Adidas’ other shoes. Recycled polyester uses less water and fewer chemicals. They also help prevent plastic pollution.

Adidas’ goal is to replace all virgin polyester with recycled polyester by 2024.

Currently, more than 40% of Adidas’ apparel uses recycled polyester.

You may have seen Adidas’ recycled sportswear without even noticing it. College football, baseball, and NHL brands among many more are also creating clothes with ocean plastic.

But this doesn’t eliminate plastic pollution entirely. Washing polyester clothing can create microfibers. All which may end up in the ocean. Adidas suggests that customers wash their clothes less often. Also use cold water and fully fill the machine each time.

This is just the first step for Adidas. The company also has plans to create a 100% recyclable shoe launching in 2021.

With the help of Parley for the Oceans, Adidas is using readily available material to manufacture new products which is a big step towards a sustainable future.

Sources: Business Insider, adidas, adidas group