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We consider the environmental impact of the material throughout its life cycle and aim to use recycled or sustainable materials. And we take several factors into account when we are evaluating the sustainability of materials including land use, elimination of hazardous substances, animal welfare, energy consumption and water consumption.

The most commonly used sustainable materials are recycled polyester, organic cotton, ‘Better Cotton’, Polylactic Acid (PLA), Tencel (a fibre made from wood pulp), and non-mulesed wool for apparel and leather....

The most commonly used sustainable materials are recycled polyester, organic cotton, ‘Better Cotton’, Polylactic Acid (PLA), Tencel (a fibre made from wood pulp), and non-mulesed wool for apparel and leather.

We source various recycled materials such as inlay soles, textiles, metals, plastics, packaging, and rubber. The companies we work with that make injected plastic plates for football boots are now recycling 99% of that waste back into production. And they have also been able to increase the percentage of rubber and EVA that can be reground and reused in shoes.

The company does not source raw materials from any endangered or threatened species, as defined by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) in its red list. The policy also prohibits using leathers from animals that have been inhumanely treated, whether these animals are wild or farmed. ...

The company does not source raw materials from any endangered or threatened species, as defined by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) in its red list. The policy also prohibits using leathers from animals that have been inhumanely treated, whether these animals are wild or farmed.

We do not tolerate animal testing for new product or material developments. And, where necessary, we ask for written confirmations from our licensees, in particular for the cosmetics business, that they strictly adhere to our requirements.

The adidas Footwear and Apparel Materials Development teams have developed material toolboxes that promote consolidation and a set of material guidelines that rank materials on sustainability criteria....

The adidas Footwear and Apparel Materials Development teams have developed material toolboxes that promote consolidation and a set of material guidelines that rank materials on sustainability criteria.

Material Toolbox
A material toolbox is a set of pre-selected approved base materials and colours. By choosing a material from the toolbox a product team is contributing to waste reduction. The choices in the toolbox are volume-driven to ensure production efficiencies, less water and electricity use and less cutting.

Continuous efforts are put into reducing the overall number of materials and colours within the toolboxes. Having fewer colours per material reduces complexity.

Material Guidelines
Alongside the material toolbox sit the material guidelines, which document what is known about the variants of each material type and what the opportunities are to make them more sustainable. They indicate where materials are on our sliding scale towards sustainability.

The material guidelines are a growing database of information, updated every season based on data from our suppliers. Ideally this includes life cycle analysis information as we have for recycled polyester.

Tackling the Challenge of Increased Costs
In many cases more sustainable alternatives are more expensive. This can be because of a limited supply or simply because of limited use which cannot reach economies of scale.

Our Apparel Development team works together with suppliers to set a seasonal guideline for the sustainable material premium those suppliers can charge for materials such as organic cotton or recycled polyester. This allows the product teams to calculate their margins with more certainty earlier in the process which encourages them to choose the more sustainable option.

In the case of cotton, we are working with the Better Cotton Initiative (BCI) to mainstream sustainable cotton, which will ensure our own security of supply and reduce costs over the medium term. Find out more about Better Cotton.

In 2000, we were one of the first companies in the global consumer goods sector to decide to eliminate PVC from our products. Alternatives have been found and nearly all styles in our global product range are now PVC-free....

In 2000, we were one of the first companies in the global consumer goods sector to decide to eliminate PVC from our products. Alternatives have been found and nearly all styles in our global product range are now PVC-free.

However, in a few countries, alternatives are not available so some local production of athletic footwear products still uses PVC. We remain committed to finding solutions in the longer term.

In 2003, we also eliminated the usage of Polyethylene Chloride for having a similar environmental footprint as PVC.

We are also encouraging a move to printing with phthalate-free inks. Some of our business units have made the changeover in their owned facilities and more and more of their suppliers are changing over, too.

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Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs), which are typically found in solvents used in our manufacturing process, can, in a high concentration, cause breathing difficulties and other health problems for production workers. Therefore, for more than a decade, we have been requesting our footwear suppliers to significantly reduce the use of VOCs in their manufacturing.

By applying innovative and environmentally-sound bonding and priming technologies and following the adidas Group guidelines on the use of chemicals, it has been possible for our athletic footwear suppliers to reduce the use of VOCs from well above 100 grams per pair down to close to 20 grams.

For 2013, our aim is to achieve an additional improvement and consistently reduce VOC emissions below 20 grams per pair of footwear. We are in close contact with our suppliers and strongly encourage them to implement the necessary technology that will contribute to further reductions.

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It has been more than ten years since the adidas Group first produced a restricted substances list and nearly as long since it stopped using PVC in mainstream applications. Now the material guidelines are updated twice a year for each new season. So things have come a long way in that time. And the key to more success in the future is the closer collaboration with other brands and suppliers.

Read more about product safety and restricted substances management.