Adidas plans to replace all the plastics used in the process of making shoes and clothes with recycled polyester by 2024, which is another big company with plastic as the environmental protection goal after Starbucks, dun dulle and other brands.
"Our goal is to get rid of the original polyester completely by 2024." Eric lidtke, global brand head of Adidas, told the Financial Times recently.
About 50% of the 9.2 million items sold by Adidas each year are made of polyester, a plastic. Recycled polyester is also plastic, just recycled old plastic, plastic waste. And recycled polyester is about 10-20% more expensive than original polyester.
Over the past two years, adidas has been working with a marine eco-environmental organization called parley for the oceans to launch some running shoes made of marine plastic waste every year - the upper of this series of running shoes primeknit uses these plastic waste to make polyester yarn. Last year, the brand sold 1 million pairs of ultraboost uncaged parley for 179.95 euros, which is much more expensive than ordinary running shoes. The target for this year is to sell 5 million pairs and 11 million 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 every year. It is not a small project to completely replace and use recycled polyester before 2024.
Adidas's environmental marketing has to take a big leap forward, with the background that more and more large companies have signed conventions or made oral commitments to resist plastics.
The trend against plastics is rolling in. Next came IKEA, which promised to eliminate all disposable plastic tableware in its restaurants by 2020, and Starbucks, which announced last week that it would eliminate all plastic straws next year. For most of the big companies that follow this trend, choosing recycled plastic is a relatively affordable way to show their attitude rather than giving up plastic altogether.
A report released 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 there might be more plastic in the ocean than fish in 2050.

As consumers learn what products they are consuming from documentaries such as blue planet or news such as "ocean trash country", brands are turning plastic boycott into a bigger campaign and promoting it.
The advantage of big companies is that they may drive down the cost of recycling plastics. Eric lidtke said the spread was the reason why it took the group six years to switch to recycled polyester. "We can't absorb all the costs in one year."
However, recycled polyester also has disadvantages, any polyester fabric will fall off microfibre, 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 it was right to use recycled plastic or replace it, but "not a package solution.".
To some extent, it is also a bet for brands that invest in environmental protection to win the favor of consumers. Once scientific research finds new evidence to question the current sustainable products, how to respond to it becomes an awkward problem - Outdoor Brand Patagonia Previously, recycled plastic bottles were used in clothes, but it was pointed out that these clothes will shed small fibers during washing, polluting the ocean and being swallowed by fish, entering the food chain. The company now says it is also working on technology to reduce fiber shedding.

In addition, in May this year, brands such as Nike, H & M, burberry and gap announced that they would join the make fashion circular program launched by Ellen MacArthur Foundation to reduce waste in the global fashion industry by recycling raw materials and products.
Fast fashion giants H & M and Zara have launched in store recycling projects, placing recycling bins in stores to encourage consumers to reduce the waste of old clothes. World brands are developing in the same direction. It can be seen that the general trend of recycling raw materials in the footwear industry is constantly strengthening.
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