More Sustainable Materials
We are committed to steadily increasing the use of preferred fibers and are constantly exploring new, innovative materials to incorporate into our products.

We strive to create the best sporting goods. At the same time we want to reduce any potential impact this has on the planet. This is why we adopt increasingly more sustainable materials for making our products. We align our approach to more sustainable materials with internationally recognized industry definitions: “A fiber or raw material that delivers consistently reduced impacts and increased benefits for climate, nature, and people against the conventional equivalent, through a holistic approach to transforming production systems.”
Find out more about our latest progress in our 2023 Annual Report
Besides transforming our portfolio to preferred fibers and materials, we are constantly exploring new innovative materials to incorporate into our products. Our approach is to be transparent about the materials we use, their environmental impact, and our efforts to mitigate any potential negative effects. Working with industry partners is essential to navigate this journey. (See Our Collaborations)
In the following sections, we dive into the reasons behind our material choices, the effects they can have on the environment and people, and our approach to addressing potential impacts.
We are committed to using more sustainable packaging materials and reducing the impact of packaging by optimizing box sizes and number of shipments.
Most of our paper-based packaging, such as shoe boxes and shipping boxes, is made with recycled content. Over 99% of the plastic packaging (polybags) used to protect finished products during shipping is made from 100% recycled LDPE (low-density polyethylene). The only current exception are the DCs where e-commerce returns are repackaged and no local vendor of recycled LDPE polybags is available yet (less than 1% of polybags).
Already since 2016, all the carrier bags handed out in adidas retail stores are made with recycled paper.