Adidas plans to end plastic waste by the end of the decade

The fashion industry is consistently taking more responsibility for their environmental impact. Not only is plastic not biodegradable but 60% of all materials used by the fashion industry are made from plastic, which comes from oil, a non renewable resource. Adidas wants to take ownership of their part, and have multiple strategies in place to help. The company will use recycled materials and design fully recyclable products in the short term. Their long term goal is to switch to biodegradable materials.

“So we’ve come up with strategies to take responsibility for the plastic we’re introducing into the world.” James Cranes, VP of brand strategy said

According to the company, 2020 is all about scaling up. By 2024, they want to use recycled plastic at scale but by the end of this year, half of all polyester will be recycled. Cranes also says that adidas is also looking for recycled options of the foam in their shoes. 

“We can’t say that we’re working to end plastic waste unless we think about all plastic in our supply chain. I can confidently say than in the next 10 years, we’ll have the technology to do so.”

The company has two other goals, to make recycling an entirely circular system as well as make products biodegradable by 2030. A few days ago the company put out a statement saying,

“As a big company, Adidas has been a big contributor to the problem.. which is why its actions need to be equally as big.”