Adidas 2021 New Year Resolution: To make over 60% of its products with sustainable materials
01 January 2021: From 2024 onward, adidas will shift to using only recycled polyester. To achieve this goal, ranging from football jerseys made with recycled polyester to the vegan version of the iconic Stan Smith – in 2021, more than 60 percent of all adidas products will be made with sustainable materials.
adidas CEO Kasper Rorsted said that sustainability is an integral part of the adidas business philosophy. “We have continued to invest in sustainability initiatives during the coronavirus pandemic and we will significantly expand our range of sustainable products in 2021.”
In 2021, adidas aims to produce 17 million pairs of shoes with recycled plastic waste collected from beaches and coastal regions, after more than 15 million in 2020. In cooperation with partners, adidas is developing plant-based leather, recycled cotton as well as a particularly climate-friendly running shoe. Company-owned photovoltaic systems with a current installed capacity of 1.4 megawatts generate green electricity. adidas has reduced its overall carbon footprint at its company sites by more than 50 percent compared to 2015.
It may be noted that in 2015, adidas and Parley for the Oceans together presented the first shoe made with Parley Ocean Plastic at the United Nations in New York. In 2020 alone, within the framework of this partnership, adidas and Parley have collected almost 7,000 tonnes of plastic waste – corresponding to around 350 million plastic bottles. Using this waste, adidas aims to produce around 17 million pairs of shoes, among other products, in 2021, after producing more than 15 million pairs in 2020.
In 2020, adidas launched vegan versions of several classics such as the adidas Stan Smith, which quickly became bestsellers. adidas is developing a new material, a purely biological leather alternative made from mycelium, and will use it for the very first time in the creation of footwear.
adidas has teamed up with footwear manufacturer Allbirds to create the world’s lowest climate footprint sports shoe. Manufacturing and transportation of this shoe are intended to include reusable materials as well as renewable energies.
