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Adidas, The Goal To End Plastic Waste Through Innovation

Writer's picture: Rania Said AbdallaRania Said Abdalla

Updated: Apr 24, 2021

Recycling plastics into textiles has been a buzz-worthy sustainable process in the textile industry. The purpose of this paper will be on how Adidas has invented and created sustainable and innovative solutions such as recycling plastic waste into textiles. Adidas, ranked in the top five in the apparel and accessories industries in ForbesWorld’s Largest Public Companies 2019 list, created strategic plans on sustainable goals extended to the year 2050. Adidas has strong partnerships with organizations companies that support sustainable approaches.


Image credit: Adidas AG


Plastic Waste In The Fashion industry


First, let’s address the fact that plastic waste is a huge problem. Furthermore, the fashion industry has been a significant contributor to this problem. According to the United Nations Environment Programme 2019 report, it is estimated that 1.4 trillion plastic fibers are in the ocean. About 60 percent of materials used to make clothing are plastic, including polyester, acrylic, and nylon textiles. Nearly half of the world’s clothing is made of polyester, and the problem is that polyester is not a biodegradable material when used in creating clothing. Polyester is made from polyethylene terephthalate (PET), the most common type of plastic globally. According to the report, when using those synthetic fabrics and washing them, they shed microfibres, which get dumped into the ocean. The microfibers and microplastics problem is that they are toxic to the marine environment because fish mistakenly eat those toxic materials. Also, this plastic ingestion may pass to larger animals and humans.



Adidas Road to Sustainability


Since 1989, Adidas has followed holistic, sustainable approaches to repair the damages that it has caused to the environment. The company has shown interest and ambition to become a sustainable company that cares about shareholder expectations, workers’ needs and rights, and most importantly, the environment. In 1989, the company banned chlorofluorocarbons (CFC) in all its products because it causes ozone damages. In 1998, Adidas prohibited using harmful and toxic chemicals from its product materials, such as polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and perfluorinated compound (PFC). During the same year, Adidas adopted a code of conduct focusing on Workplace Standards, which supports human and labor rights. Since 2001, Adidas has been committed to sharing its transparency and responsiveness regarding its sustainability report. It has been reporting and publishing a yearly report on its sustainability practices since then. In 2018, Adidas collaborated with Better Cotton Initiative (BCI) to source 100 percent sustainably produced products.


Moreover, for chemical management, 99 percent of Adidas products are perfluorinated compound (PFC) free. Adidas aims to reduce carbon emissions and footprint by 30 percent in 2030 and achieve climate neutrality by 2050. Adidas focuses on the choice of materials because materials influence the environmental footprint. While focusing on protecting the environment, Adidas eliminated oil-based plastic because it helps reduce carbon emissions and footprint.


End Plastic Waste INNOVATION IS THE SOLUTION


In 2012, at the London Olympic Games, Adidas created uniforms made from recycled polyester for all volunteers who participated. In 2014, Adidas banned plastic bags in its stores globally, and it has committed to using only recycled polyester in its products. During the same year, Adidas ranked among the top 10 companies globally for the 100 most sustainable corporations in the world. In 2019, Adidas announced that it would only use recycled polyester and plastics in its shoes and clothing by 2024. In 2020, the company declared that more than half of the polyester used in Adidas products had been recycled from plastic waste. For the spring/summer 2020 golf collection, Adidas produced 71 percent of its apparel and 75 percent of its footwear using recycled polyester.


Image credit: Adidas AG


Adidas Partnerships, Innovation, and New Technologies on Ending Plastic Waste


Adidas has invested a significant amount of time and research on finding innovative solutions to create sustainable products. Adidas has partnerships with several organizations and companies that created innovative technology and techniques to produce sustainable high-performance products.


Parley for the Oceans


Since 2015, Adidas has partnered with Parley for the Oceans, which is a global network of creators, designers, thinks, government and environmental groups, and brand owners—Adidas has been a founding member of this environmental organization—and committed to its strategy, A.I.R (Avoid, Intercept, Redesign). Parley’s strategy focuses on avoiding the use of plastic and preventing plastic from entering the oceans. Adidas has been using Parley’s strategy “as an eco-innovative replacement for virgin plastic.” The ultimate goal is reinventing plastic and turning it into sportswear.

In 2015, Adidas and Parley for the Oceans collaborated to launch a pair of recycled plastic waste shoes at the United Nations as part of the long-term eco-innovation partnership. In 2018, Adidas produced more than five million pairs of shoes made of Parley Ocean Plastic. In 2019, Adidas produced 11 million pairs of shoes made from plastic waste. In 2020, Adidas announced that it has committed to producing “a record 15 to 20 million pairs of shoes with plastic waste collected from beaches and coastal regions.” In 2019, Adidas contributed about “$1.5 million to help the Parley Ocean School Program that educates and empowers the next generation to protect our oceans.”


FUTURECRAFT.LOOPCIRCULAR LOOP


Since Adidas aims to combat plastic waste, it has revealed a new product line that is entirely based on 100 percent recycled ocean plastic. In 2019, in collaboration with Parley for the Oceans, Adidas released a new fully recyclable performance running footwear called FUTURECRAFT.LOOP. This strategy's idea is that the running shoe can be returned to Adidas, broken down, and then reused in the recycling process to create a new performance running shoe. According to Eric Liedtke, an executive board member at Adidas, “FUTURECRAFT.LOOP is our first running shoe that is made to be remade.”


adidas FUTURECRAFT LOOP - Progress Film


This initiative aims to close the loop and depend on a circular manufacturing model to reuse raw materials and repurpose them to create a new running shoe. The launch is planned for 2021. Adidas is letting customers participate in this sustainable approach. Customers will have to return their used shoes to the store in exchange for a gift card.


Performance & Accountability


According to Adidas 2019 annual report, it shows on the income statement that Adidas revenues grew by 8 percent to € 23.640 billion from € 21.915 billion in 2018. Breakdown of the net sales shown in the table below. The gross profit margin increased to € 12.293 billion from € 11.363 billion in 2018. The cost of sales was around € 11.347 billion compared to the prior-year level of € 10.552 billion. On December 31, 2019, Adidas had 59,533 employees for the global employee population compared to the prior year of 57,016 employees—48 percent of males and 52 percent of females.

Stakeholder Dialogue & Transparency


Adidas highly values transparent dialogue with the stakeholders through active participation to develop the sustainable framework. Examples of stakeholders: Better Cotton Initiative (BCI), Zero Discharge of Hazardous Chemicals (ZDHC), Sustainable Apparel Coalition (SAC), Leather Working Group (LWG), and Apparel and Footwear International Management (AFIRM). Also, Adidas has been a participant in various organizations: the World Federation of Sporting Goods Industry, Fair Labor Association (FLA), Bangladesh Accord on Fire and Building Safety, and the German government-led Partnership on Sustainable Textiles. Adidas has been complying with laws and rights and joined the International Labour Organization’s (ILO) Better Factories program in Cambodia to oversee the chain of transparency, treat workers, and guarantee ethical recruitment and environment factories and workplace.


Public Recognition


Adidas 2019 annual report, Adidas, joined the Dow Jones Sustainability Indices (DJSI) for the 20th consecutive time. Also, Adidas was among the 10 percent best performing companies in environmental, economic, and social criteria. Adidas has been awarded a B score for its climate change and water management approach. For the Green Supply Chain Corporate Information, Adidas could position the second place advancing from tenth place in the textile industry. For the 2019 Global 100 Index, Adidas was listed in the “Global 100 Most Sustainable Corporations in the world” by Corporate Knights, a Toronto-based media and investment advisory company, during the World Economic Forum in Davos. According to the Impakter Index, KPIs on sustainable progress are hard to find, and hence, Adidas has been rated as B.


Final Thoughts


Adidas is a leading company in sportswear manufacturing. It has an excellent track record of financial performance. It has established itself as a leader in following sustainable approaches and models to combat plastic waste and protect the environment. Adidas has been focusing on using recycled and repurposed plastic, creating a circular loop where products can be broken down, remade into high-performance sportswear, and create completely biodegradable products. Adidas should make all its sustainable technology and innovations public to allow companies to use them. Adidas cannot fix environmental problems by itself. I think Adidas should make all their sustainable technology and innovations public to allow small and big companies to use them. This is how we will notice practical solutions related to sustainable actions.


 

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