Adidas reiterated its commitment to help end marine plastic pollution as part of its partnership with Parley For The Oceans. On May 10, Adidas is set to release three new running shoes, created with Parley Ocean Plastic, making Adidas x Parley footwear more readily available to consumers around the world. Two years into its partnership with Parley, this product launch is yet another step in the company’s commitment to create one million pairs of shoes made from up-cycled marine plastic in 2017.

“At Adidas, our core belief is that through sport, we have the power to change lives,” commented Kasper Rorsted, Adidas CEO. “This becomes particularly relevant when we talk about the impact we have with our sustainability work. We are one of the very few companies that integrate sustainability into their business model, which becomes most visible in the fact that we take sustainability to the product level. But we do not stop there. We not only see sustainability as an opportunity to get a competitive advantage. We see it as an obligation for us as a global company to do business in a responsible and sustainable way.”

Following last year’s launch of Adidas’ first products made from Parley Ocean Plastic, Adidas unveiled details on the upcoming Parley editions of UltraBoost, UltraBoost X and UltraBoost Uncaged. Using intercepted marine plastic, Adidas is turning threat into thread to create high performance products, including swimming and outdoor items that were released earlier this year. Find more information at Adidas.com/parley.

In addition, two major activations are planned to continue to raise awareness for the state of the oceans:

  • Adidas is calling on its global community to sign up for the Adidas x Parley Run for the Oceans, a global digital activation taking place around World Oceans Day 2017 (June 5-11). To find out more and sign up, please visit Adidas.com/runfortheoceans.
  • On Sunday, April 23, following the inception of the Adidas x Parley Real Madrid and Bayern Munich jerseys in November 2016, four MLS teams will take the pitch in game jerseys made from Parley Ocean Plastic. The unique kits will be worn when New York City FC hosts Orlando City SC and when LA Galaxy welcomes Seattle Sounders at Yankee Stadium and StubHub Center, respectively.

“Every second breath we take is generated by the Oceans,” commented Cyrill Gutsch, founder of Parley for the Oceans. “And still, we are destroying them in rapid speed. Together with Adidas we achieved the impossible and turned the severe threat of marine plastic pollution into an opportunity for the whole industry. We established Parley Ocean Plastic™ as a premium material, a symbol of change, a flag for a strategy that can end the problem for good: Parley AIR. Avoid, Intercept and Redesign.”

The company also released its 2016 Sustainability Progress Report, the 17th edition published so far. The report is an annual overview of achievements and challenges, outlining Adidas 2020 targets in reaching its six strategic priorities, from using more sustainable materials in its production to tackling the ever-growing issue of water scarcity or the empowerment of its supply chain workers, among others. It is available on the company’s website.

About the Sustainability Report
Deeply rooted in the company’s core belief, the new sustainability strategy — launched in 2016 — translates Adidas’ sustainable efforts into tangible goals and measurable objectives until 2020. The annual Sustainability Progress Report informs about the sustainability strategy progress.

“No matter how far Adidas has come with its sustainability efforts over the years, we know that we can always improve,” said Rorsted. “For this reason, we are calling all creators, our own employees, our partners and consumers as well as suppliers to be a part of this important journey. We strive to give them the space their ideas and creative force need to improve our company’s sustainable efforts.”

Some highlights from the 2016 Sustainability Progress Report:

  • 2016 target to source 60 percent Better Cotton exceeded by 8pp, on track with company target of sourcing 100 percent sustainable cotton by the end of 2018.
  • Elimination of approximately 70 million plastic shopping bags as a result of the global switch from plastic bags to paper bags in retail stores.
  • Achievement of 23 percent water savings per employee on Adidas sites (2008-2016).
  • 736 employees spent a total of 33,000 hours volunteering.
  • Increase of 47 percent in the number of BOKS schools, a free before-school physical activity program, compared to 2015.
  • Growth by 10 percent in the access to the Workers’ Hotline. The service is now available to 290,000 workers in 63 strategic supplier factories across four countries (Cambodia, Indonesia, Vietnam and China).
  • Adidas ranked second in the Apparel sector, and fifth in the overall ranking out of 98 corporations in the newly launched Corporate Human Rights Benchmark (CHRB). Also, it ranked first in the KnowTheChain evaluation of forced labor in the global Apparel and Footwear sector, mainly due to its best practices, including strong disclosure and supply chain risk mapping.

The 2016 Sustainability Progress Report is available here.

For more information about adidas’ sustainability approach, click here.

To learn more about the adidas x Parley partnership, click here.

Photo courtesy Adidas