Clothing brands give a sporting chance to reprocessing industry

Adidas, the world’s secondlargest sportswear brand, is putting its best foot forward when it comes to recycling.

As part of an overall sustainability strategy, the manufacturer, headquartered in Germany, has announced that within the next six years it will use only recycled polyester in all its shoes and clothing.

Adidas launched its first mass-produced running shoe made from recycled water bottles — the Ultraboost Uncaged Parley — in 2016.

Sales of the shoes, which cost 180 euros ($208) on the company’s German website, are expected to reach 5 million this year and 11 million next year.

“Adidas is one of the few companies integrating sustainability into its business model,” company representative Katja Schrieber said. “Each pair of Parley shoes prevents approximately 11 plastic bottles from entering the world’s oceans.”

Schrieber said that by replacing virgin plastic in its offices, retail outlets, warehouses and distribution centers worldwide, Adidas will save more than 40 metric tons of plastic annually, starting this year.

Its stores switched from plastic to paper bags in 2016, she said.

Eric Liedtke, head of Adidas global brands, told the Financial Times, “Our goal is to get rid of virgin polyester overall by 2024.” He added that about half of the material used in the company’s 920 million items is polyester.

“With these kind of volumes, we cannot make the transition overnight,” Liedtke said.

In Britain, The Times newspaper reported that other clothing brands are also jumping on the recycled materials bandwagon. Patagonia and H&M use recycled polyester in some of their items, and fashion designer Stella McCartney has vowed to stop using virgin nylon by 2020.