Adidas has reached a major sustainability milestone as it announces that the share of recycled polyester in all its products will “exceed 50 per cent for the first time” in 2020.
The sportswear giant revealed this week that more than half the polyester used in all of its items produced throughout this year, including clothing, shoes and sports goods like shin pads, will be recycled.
This came amid announcements of numerous ambitious sustainability pledges, including using “only recycled polyester” across its entire range by 2024.
Furthermore, Adidas said it plans to produce 15 to 20 million pairs of shoes made from plastics collected from beaches around the world this year, growing from the 11 million pairs it produced in 2019.
“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,” Adidas stated.
“The spectrum ranges from using increasingly sustainable materials, waste prevention and new types of take-back programs for used products to climate protection.”
Alongside the introduction of more sustainable materials, Adidas also plans to launch its fully recyclable running shoe Futurecraft Loop in 2021, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions from itself and suppliers by 30 per cent by 2030.
Last September Adidas celebrated two decades in the Dow Jones Sustainability Indices, being ranked best in its industry for environmental policy and management systems, operational eco-efficiency and social reporting.