adidas Group exceeds 2014 Better Cotton target
In 2014 the adidas Group used more sustainable cotton than ever before
Today, the adidas Group announced that in 2014 the company sourced more than 30% of all its cotton as Better Cotton, exceeding the originally planned 25% target. This marks the highest volume in sustainable cotton used in the company’s history. The Better Cotton used in 2014 was produced following sustainable production guidelines and was predominantly sourced from farmers located in India, Pakistan and Brazil.
"At the adidas Group, we are constantly trying to increase the use of more sustainable materials for our products, and Better Cotton is a clear success story for us. As a founding member of the Better Cotton Initiative, we firmly believe that Better Cotton is well on its way to becoming a sustainable mainstream commodity. We will continue to increase the amount of sustainable cotton we use over the coming years."
John McNamara, adidas Group SVP SourcingThe Better Cotton Initiative (BCI) aims to make global cotton production more sustainable. To do so, BCI works with organisations from across the cotton supply chain and interested stakeholders to address the negative social and environmental impacts of mainstream cotton farming, such as excessive pesticide and water use, while also promoting fair working conditions for the cotton farmers and their workers.
© Abrapa BrasilThe adidas Group has committed to source 100% of cotton across all product categories in all its brands as ‘sustainable cotton’ by 2018. The next target in this journey is to use 40% Better Cotton by 2015. Previous updates on the adidas Group commitment to the Better Cotton Initiative were shared on the company’s corporate blog and website.
Identifying better ways to create products is a key component of the adidas Group Sustainability Strategy. This is done, for instance, by increasing the use of more sustainable materials such as Better Cotton or recycled polyester, by developing product innovations with a lower environmental footprint such as adidas DryDye and by maximising efficiencies such as the adidas ‘low waste’ initiative.
The adidas Group’s efforts in the area of sustainability recently received unprecedented recognition, when the company ranked third among the Global 100 Most Sustainable Corporations in the World (Global 100 Index).
Additional information on the adidas Group’s progress in this area will be communicated with the company’s upcoming 2014 Sustainability Report, to be issued in April 2015.
Header image © Abrapa Brasil