Global sportswear brand Adidas has unveiled a new trade-in program for old running shoes and sportswear, regardless of brand, with the aim of improving the circularity of the industry a bit.

Adidas has launched the Choose to Give Back program, which enables users to extend the life cycle of athletic and lifestyle clothing and footwear.

Users can send used products of any brand to Adidas through its Creator’s Club app. Products will be managed by thredUP’s Resale as a Service (RaaS) platform to ensure that they are resold where possible or reused in other products.

To participate, consumers can generate a prepaid Clean Out Kit shipping label through the app to return the equipment. Users earn rewards for doing so.

“We believe that excellent performance should not come at the expense of the environment. This is why we are committed to establishing a circular future for sportswear, and with the Choose to Give Back program, we are helping people see new possibilities to breathe new life into old clothes, ”said Katja Schreiber. , senior vice president of sustainability at Adidas.

The new program is in line with Adidas’ ambition to use 100% recycled polyester in its products by 2024.

Earlier this year, Adidas and Allbirds unveiled a prototype pair of running shoes with a carbon footprint of less than 3kg, well below the industry average of 13.6kg.

Each pair of shoes has a carbon footprint of 2.94 kg of CO2e. Neither Adidas nor Allbirds have produced a shoe with this small footprint before and the brands claim the shoe is “as close to zero carbon as they could get.”

Adidas and Allbirds first announced that they were working together to develop the low carbon footwear in early 2020, setting an ambition to develop the world’s lowest carbon athletic shoes to date.

Adidas is committed to reducing its carbon footprint by 30% by 2030 and achieving carbon neutrality by 2050.

However, the company was recently placed in the “red zone” for its sustainability claims. A study of the websites of 12 of the biggest UK and European fashion brands, including Asos, H&M and Zara, found that 60% of environmental claims could be categorized as “unfounded” and “misleading”.

The Changing Markets Foundation’s “Synthetics Anonymous” report assessed brands in fast fashion, luxury fashion, and online retail based on their sustainability claims.

In all subjects, none of the brands received an overall ranking as a “pioneer”. Most of the brands that received the worst overall rating, the “red zone”, simply failed to disclose to the Foundation or provide information online.

Adidas, however, revealed that around 90% of the products contain virgin synthetics, with polyester being the most widely used fiber in its clothing line.

“Adidas has a reputation for delivering innovative and sustainable solutions globally, and thredUP is delighted to support its latest initiative to encourage more circular habits among consumers,” said Pooja Sethi, senior vice president of thredUP .

“By enabling large-scale resale with customizable solutions for major brands and retailers, we keep high-quality clothing in use longer and fight the waste of fashion. “

Matt Masse