Edited 2050 is the year when we at adidas plan to achieve climate neutrality. 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.
Being in the business of sport for over 70 years has taught adidas many valuable lessons; lessons on winning, losing, and adapting to the needs of athletes – and the world. The current state of the world might initially cause a lot of us to feel defeated and question the impact we can have. Climate change, pollution, plastic waste, water contamination… you name it, it’s happening to our planet. But our mindset of stepping up when against all odds and finding new ways to win together is what is driving us as a company to be a better corporate citizen.
But while we raised the bar on environmental standards at our own sites, in our supply chain and for our products, the change is bigger than us. Innovating and creating products that help preserve the planet for future generations is no longer a niche for specialized brands, and it’s becoming an expected standard for how every company approaches its business. As a big company, we make a big impact in any action we take. Therefore, we speak up and take action, not only to help our consumers understand why they should care, but our industry as well.
MADE TO BE REMADE – THE JOURNEY SO FAR
Last year we announced the Three Loop Strategy – our roadmap to help end plastic waste. At the heart of this is Circular Loop – Made To Be Remade.
The concept behind Made To Be Remade (MTBR) is simple: when one piece of plastic has fulfilled its purpose, it must be remade to fulfil another. Our attitude is that the end of one thing equates to the beginning of the next, and that our products’ lives can be extended by remaking them into new products.
Our Circular Loop creation process has come a long way since we introduced FUTURECRAFT.LOOP – our first running shoe made to be remade – in 2019. From what started as a beta program of just 200 pairs has developed into a concept within the business that spans across multiple categories and in April this year saw the first commercial launch – Ultraboost Made To Be Remade.
David Quass, Director of Sustainability Innovation at adidas described the Made To Be Remade process; “During production we carefully define how products must be designed and created so they can be remade. The process must be transparent, and repeatable. Only then can our learnings be adapted. For example, in our apparel, we’ve designed products that, once returned, can be redeveloped into brand new yarn and reused to knit the next apparel piece. We’re exploring chemical and mechanical recycling technologies which can be applied depending on the material of the products, be it recycled polyester, cotton or regenerated cellulosic, or TPU.”
TPU in particular is an incredible material that we’ve been using it for some time because of its versatility. We use it for some of our most well-known innovations – like Boost – because of its flexibility, durability, and performance benefits. You can melt it down, reform it and create a wide range of components with the same foundational material. We are also the first manufacturer to purpose TPU into a yarn, which has unlocked a whole new dimension of creation possibilities.
But while material is a critical component in making Made To Be Remade products, design is just as important.
