Polyester plastic is used in about 50% of Adidas products. And if you consider the number of shoes and clothes the company makes a year that's a lot of plastic.
But over the past few years, Adidas has stepped up to help our environment. In 2016 they stopped using plastic bags in all their stores. They have experimented with using biodegradable fabric that would disintegrate quickly after use. And recently the sports apparel giant partnered with an environmental group to make special edition shoes wholly made of recycled water bottles.
But now they are going a step further. The company has started to phase out using new plastic in their entire production line by the end of 2018. By 2024, the company hopes to use nothing but 100% recycled polyester in all their products.
Their decision to make the change couldn't have come sooner. Plastics are wreaking havoc on our environment. Every day tons of the material ends up in landfills, or worse, in our oceans. In fact, according to experts, in the next three decades, there could be more plastic in our seas than fish.
If Adidas can make the switch, so can Nike. The iconic American brand is the largest sportswear producer in the world and has an enormous plastic footprint. In the past, they have used recycled plastics to make uniforms but they have yet to commit to making the "big switch" to using 100% recycled plastic in their entire production and product line like Adidas has just done.
Care2 wants to challenge Nike to follow in Adidas' footsteps and commit to using only recycled plastics to make their products.
Photo Credit: Bo Eide
