Tennis shoes. Track suits. Textile fiber made from wood and agricultural waste… “One of these things is not like the others.”
And yet they all belong to Adidas. Just last week Adidas announced their 3 million euro ($3.7 million USD) investment in Spinnova Oyj, the Finnish sustainable textile material company.
Soundbite: “We are an ideal match with the ambitious and pioneering Adidas sustainability strategy,” said Spinnova CEO and Co-Founder Janne Poranen.
Why it matters: Spinnova has developed technology to make textile fibers out of everything from wood to food waste (we’re curious, too) with zero harmful chemicals.
Sustainability isn’t just a buzzword for Adidas. It issued a 500 million euro sustainability bond in September 2020, which has been oversubscribed five times. Proceeds have gone to renewable energy production and recycled material projects. And by 2024, the company has pledged to shift to only using recycled polyester in its products.
Wrap it up: People might not have ever pegged Adidas as potential leaders in the sustainable agriculture world. But the textiles it uses have to come from somewhere. And as climate change and technology continue to disrupt or evolve the supply chains the company depends on, it looks like Adidas is thinking big on its sustainability strategies.
