adidas today is launching a three-year research program entitled Sport Infinity to "develop soccer cleats that can be repeatedly recycled, use no chemical adhesives and create no waste, amid growing concerns that the world’s rise in garment consumption is hurting the environment," according to Ellen Emmerentze Jervell of the WALL STREET JOURNAL. adidas said that the European Union-funded project "would assemble experts from a variety of industries to develop a 'super-material' that can be used for performance sports gear, and later be broken down and remolded repeatedly." The program is "one of several steps Adidas has taken recently to boost its ethical credentials." The brand on Tuesday said that it would join Microsoft, Sony and several other companies in a UN initiative to "become a 'leading example' in tackling climate change, by agreeing to measure its climate footprint and reduce emissions where possible." In the course of the three-year program, it "plans to cooperate with experts from a variety of industries," including Germany-based chemical firm BASF, Austria-based consultancy Kiska, "several international universities and textile connoisseurs." adidas hopes that it will "use the new material in anything from soccer cleats to performance sportswear and soccer balls, eventually offering customers the chance to hand in their old products and recycle them into custom-made new ones" (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 9/24).
JUST GO GREEN: The Climate Group on Tuesday announced that Nike "is one of 36 major businesses that have pledged" to use 100% renewable energy for electrical demands. Nike "wants to hit the mark" by '25. In Portland, Matthews Kish noted other companies that "have made the pledge include Goldman Sachs, Johnson & Johnson and Procter & Gamble." Nike "has invested heavily in developing more sustainable methods to make shoes, which is historically an environmentally destructive process that requires glue, chemicals and natural resources such as rubber and oil" (BIZJOURNALS.com, 9/23).
