adidas and Stella McCartney present prototypes of sustainable and recyclable sportswear
adidas by Stella McCartney and partners have developed new eco-conscious products as part of adidas’ open source approach.
- Using NuCycl™ by Evrnu technology, the Infinite Hoodie is made from 60 % NuCycl™ and 40 % organic cotton that has been diverted from landfills and can be reused to be remade into high-performance product.
- The Biofabric Tennis Dress is a prototype concept incubated with Bolt Threads that specialises in bioengineered sustainable materials and fibres. The tennis dress is made with cellulose blended yarn and Microsilk™, a protein-based material that is made with renewable ingredients (water, sugar, and yeast) and can fully biodegrade.
As part of adidas' cooperation with the environmental organization Parley for the Oceans, plastic waste is intercepted and used to produce a yarn for the manufacture of adidas' Parley products including footwear. In 2017, the production with Parley Ocean Plastic was one million pairs of shoes, in 2018 five million and the planning for 2019 was to produce 11 million pairs of shoes containing recycled ocean plastic.
The world's first fully recyclable running shoe, the Futurecraft Loop, will be launched in 2021.
adidas is committed to reducing the absolute energy consumption and CO2 emissions. In 2018, it signed the Climate Protection Charter for the Fashion Industry at the UN Climate Change Conference and agreed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 30 percent by 2030.
James Carnes, Vice President of Strategy Creation: “Creating products with upcycled plastic waste was our first step. The next challenge is to end the concept of waste entirely. Focusing on three core areas, we will explore ways to create products that can either be fully recyclable or biodegradable.”
adidas is increasing the use of sustainable materials in all areas of its product range. From 2024 onwards, only recycled polyester will be used in every product and on every application where a solution exists.