Adidas Is Taking Back Used Footwear In Push To ‘Give Back’ To The Environment
Image via thredUP
Brands around the world have begun to introduce renewed sustainability commitments and operational changes with increased urgency, and Adidas is no exception.
In an announcement Thursday, the sportswear giant revealed its latest Choose To Give Back program, a partnership with fashion resale firm thredUP. This will invite customers to return their used products to be reused or resold.
With the Adidas Creators Club app, users will be able to generate a prepaid shipping mail label that can be used to send in old clothing, footwear, and accessories. While the program is run by Adidas, the items sent in don’t have to be from the brand itself—they can be from any.
After giving back their used products, customers will earn rewards in exchange. Even if an item isn’t fit to be resold, it will be forwarded to thredUP’s network of textile reuse partners.
This will be a welcome change, as an estimated 36 billion apparel items are discarded every year in just the US alone, thredUP states, and 95% of this “waste” has the potential to be reused.
“We believe that great performance shouldn’t come at the cost of the environment,” says Katja Schreiber, SVP of Sustainability at Adidas. “We’re committed to establishing a circular future for sportswear, and with the Choose to Give Back program are helping people to see new possibilities to give old gear new life.”
After an initial launch within the Creators Club app on October 7, the program is scheduled to roll out online and in stores by early 2022.
[via Fast Company, image via thredUP]
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