• Categories:Industry News
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• Time of issue:2020-02-04 14:54
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(Summary description)
Adidas plans to replace all the plastics used in the manufacturing of shoes and clothing with recycled polyester by 2024. This is another major company that takes plastics as an environmental goal after Starbucks, Dunkin' Dole and other brands.

"Our goal is to completely get rid of virgin polyester by 2024." Eric Lidtke, head of Adidas' global brand, said in an interview with the Financial Times recently.

Approximately 50% of the materials used in the 9.2 million single products sold by Adidas are polyester, which is a type of plastic. Recycled polyester is also plastic, but old plastic and plastic waste recovered. Moreover, recycled polyester is about 10-20% more expensive than virgin polyester.

Adidas has been cooperating with a marine eco-environmental organization called Parley for the Oceans for more than two years, and every year it launches some running shoes made of marine plastic waste. The upper Primeknit of this series of running shoes uses these plastic waste to make polyester yarn. line. Last year, the brand sold 1 million pairs of Ultraboost Uncaged Parley, priced at 179.95 euros, which is much more expensive than ordinary running shoes. This year's goal is to sell 5 million pairs and 11 million pairs in 2019.

But even if 11 million pairs are sold, this figure only accounts for 3% of the 450 million pairs of sports shoes sold by Adidas each year. It is no small project to completely replace the use of recycled polyester by 2024.

Adidas' environmental marketing needs a big leap. The background is that more and more large companies have signed conventions to boycott plastics or issued verbal promises.

The tide of boycotting plastics is coming. IKEA also followed, promising to cancel all disposable plastic tableware in stores and restaurants by 2020; and then Starbucks, which announced last week to completely phase out plastic straws next year. For most large companies following this trend, choosing recycled plastics is relatively affordable and a way to show their stance rather than giving up plastics altogether.

A report issued by the World Economic Forum in 2016 pointed out that at least 8 million tons of plastic enter the ocean every year, and warned that by 2050 there may be more plastic in the ocean than fish.

As consumers learn what kind of products they are consuming from documentaries such as "Blue Planet" or news such as "Marine Garbage Country", brands have naturally begun to turn plastic boycotts into a larger campaign. And promote it.

The advantage of joining a large company is that it may drive down the cost of the recycled plastics industry. Eric Lidtke said that the price difference is the reason why the group took 6 years to switch to recycled polyester. “We can’t absorb all the costs within a year.”

However, recycled polyester also has shortcomings. Any polyester fabric will shed microfibers, which is a large part of the cause of marine plastic pollution. Sander Defruyt of the Allen MacArthur Foundation, which is committed to accelerating the transition to a circular economy, said that using recycled plastic or replacing it is right, but "not a package solution."

To a certain extent, this is also a bet for brands that invest in environmental protection to win consumers’ favor. Once scientific research finds new evidence to raise questions about products that are currently considered sustainable, how to respond becomes an embarrassing question—— Outdoor brand Patagonia had previously used recycled plastic bottles in clothes, but it was pointed out that these clothes would shed tiny fibers during the washing process, polluting the ocean, being swallowed by fish, and entering the food chain. The company currently says that they are still studying technologies to reduce fiber shedding.

In addition, in May this year, brands such as Nike, H&M, Burberry and Gap announced that they have joined the Make Fashion Circular program initiated by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation to reduce waste in the global fashion industry by recycling raw materials and products.

Fast fashion giants H&M and Zara launched in-store recycling projects, placing clothing recycling bins in stores to encourage consumers to reduce the discarding of old clothes. The world's brands are all developing in the same direction. It can be seen that the general trend of recycling raw materials in the footwear industry is constantly strengthening.

On the 13th, Nike launched a new concept store Nike Live in Los Angeles, USA. The first store was named Nike by Melrose.

Compared with other stores, the biggest change in Nike by Melrose's retail is that the product update cycle is shorter. In this store, approximately 15% of clothes and 25% of shoes are changed every two weeks. Nike has never changed products so quickly before; it usually takes 30 to 45 days.

In addition, the store incorporates more NikePlus membership functions, including product reservation, checking product inventory quantity and color, and online