Adidas aims to eliminate virgin polyester by 2024
17/07/2018
“Our goal is to get rid of virgin polyester overall by 2024,” Eric Liedtke, adidas’ head of global brands, told the Financial Times. He explained that the volume of polyester the group uses in its apparel and footwear means “we cannot make the transition overnight”.
The brand has been using recycled polyester derived from recovered ocean waste for a number of years. It has so far incorporated it into footwear jerseys, swimwear, apparel and a range of performance running shoes.
As part of its shift away from virgin polyester, adidas is targeting the sale of five million pairs of shoes made from recycled polyester this year and 11 million pairs in 2019. Last year, it sold one million pairs of its recycled Ultraboost Uncaged Parley trainer.
Mr Liedtke said the price difference between recycled and “virgin” polyester is one of the main reasons adidas is expecting it to take until 2024 before the transition is complete.
“We have to make sure we take right-sized bites so that we can maintain our current margin structure,” he said. “We can absorb some costs every year, but we could not absorb it all in one year.”
Image credit: adidas.
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