Adidas wants to drastically reduce its use of plastic. The sports brand has announced it will only use recycled plastic from 2024.
The company currently still makes extensive use, especially for clothing, of so-called 'virgin' plastic, which includes polyester. This material is very suitable for sportswear as it dries quickly and weighs little. Adidas has now announced it will only use recycled plastic from 2024 onwards. This applies not only to the making of their products, but also to all the brand's offices, shops, department stores and distribution centres. This move could save around 40 tonnes of plastic a year.
Shoes
Adidas' clothing line for spring and summer this year will already consist of 41 per cent recycled polyester. The German company also expects an increase in sales of its Parley shoes, which are made from plastic waste intercepted before it reaches the oceans, and expects to sell five million of them this year, up from 1 million in 2017.
Adidas is not the first company to take action to reduce its use of plastic. Starbucks, for instance, has plans to remove all plastic straws from its branches, just as McDonalds' wants to do. Ikea, too, will stop using 'single use' plastic.
Tax on plastic
Although plastic is a cheap and versatile material, governments and consumers are increasingly aware of its environmental impact. Moreover, research still seeds that by 2050 there will be more plastic than fish in the oceans by weight. In Europe, a tax on 'virgin' plastic is being worked on, which means Adidas is also going to ban it. 'Last January, EU Budget Commissioner Oettinger proposed a tax on plastic,' the Plastic Soup Foundation reports on its website. "In addition, the Greens group in the European Parliament started a campaign for a tax on plastic for manufacturers this year. At the same time, the packaging industry is lobbying strongly to avoid all forms of tax on plastic and advocates only measures taken on a voluntary basis."
The European Commission already asked the industry last summer to make voluntary commitments to reduce plastic use. "The 65 pledges the Commission received show that European recyclers will be able to offer at least 10 million tonnes of recycled plastic by 2025." The problem, however, is that "only" 5 million tonnes of recycled plastic is requested, the website reports. "Plastic producers only want to use recycled plastic if it meets their desired quality requirements." Sustainable Development Commissioner Frans Timmermans earlier indicated in a press release: "We will now analyse what the next steps should be to encourage the use of recycled plastic and close the gap between supply and demand."
Source: CNN/Plastic Soup Foundation
Photo: PIxabay
