Materials

2050 is the year when we at adidas plan to achieve climate neutrality, across our entire value chain. It’s also the year when it’s expected that our oceans will contain more plastic than fish, that is, if we don’t act now. Our solution to help end plastic waste and achieve climate neutrality? Sustainable innovation. 

In 2015, adidas presented the first adidas x Parley running shoe made with recycled plastic waste intercepted from beaches and coastal communities at the United Nations headquarters in New York. Since then, adidas has aggressively tackled the use of plastic and introduced recycled polyester across its entire product range. By 2024, adidas will only use recycled polyester wherever possible. Today, more than 90 percent of the polyester used is recycled polyester. 

Using recycled materials is just the first step. adidas is also working on taking back used products to extend product lifespan through re-commerce and re-use, as well as repurposing materials to reduce waste. Following successful pilots in the UK and Japan, adidas launched a comprehensive takeback program in the world’s largest sporting goods market, the U.S., in October 2021. Additional markets will follow.  

Under the label “Made to be Remade,” we create products that are designed with circularity in mind. These products only use materials which can be returned into an existing recycling stream at the end of their useful lives.