Published on December 4th in the Nikkei newspaper “Adidas’s plastic reduction measures have changed Stan Smith. An interview article by CEO Mikiko Saito with Adidas Japan Vice President Thomas Siler was published. Since the article is only published in Japanese, this BLOG will introduce the English translation of the content.

 

Solving plastic problems with innovation, Adidas’ Purpose and Sustainability

By using “Purpose” as their front point, Germany’s Adidas will take the lead in reducing plastic

Mikiko Saito, CEO of SMO (Tokyo, Minato), a consulting company focusing on purpose, asked Adidas Japan Vice President of Marketing Thomas Sailer about the practice.

Saito (hereinafter referred to as Saito)-
Adidas has a wonderful purpose that “through sports, we have the power to change people’s lives.” As a leader, what kind of a role does it play in your daily work?

 

Mr. Thomas Sailer (hereinafter Sailer) –
The important thing is the practice of “how do we want to change people’s lives?”, And the method is considered from the two aspects of “people” and “earth.” First of all, when it comes to people, Adidas has been working on diversity, equity and inclusion for some time. The new strategy we have added is to deepen relationships not only with consumers but also with employees working at Adidas. I want my employees to want to work for a long time.

Regarding the earth, just the way sports changes peoples lives for the better, I feel that to make the earth more of a better place, sustainability needs to take place.

Specifically, along with the commitment “END PLASTIC WASTE” to sustainability, in June 2015, together with the marine conservation group “Parley for the Oceans”, we announced at the the United Nations Headquarters we will produce concept shoes that reuse marine plastic waste.

By 2024, we plan to eliminate Polyester in all products and use 100% recycled polyester.

 

Saito-
Adidas has a wonderful purpose that “through sports, we have the power to change people’s lives.” As a leader, what kind of a role does it play in your daily work?

 

Sailer –
In order to convey the sustainable activities of Adidas, we started with the best-selling Stan Smith. At first, when I explained the idea to our business partners, Stan Smith was also a representative of leather shoes, and some people were worried that fans wouldn’t understand it.

 

Saito-
In situations such as that did purpose support you?

 

Sailer –
That’s right. I believed that making this purpose reality would ultimately benefit our customers, so I was able to maintain my desire to sell Stan Smith in a sustainable manner.

 

Saito-
Stan Smith is also popular on the street. Even after making it sustainable, that impression of it hasn’t changed at all.

 

Sailer –
Stan Smiths are especially popular here in Japan. What was important in this renewal was not only the comfortability but also the design. It was not just about Stan Smith, but the same with any product. In fact, our business partners, influencer and fans have positively accepted this change and adidas’ effort has been evaluated as correct. Sales are going well, and since its release the number of sales has been steadily increasing,

 

Nikkei Cross Trend “Asking the Adidas Marketing Vice President; what are the three “loop strategies”?”

 

Saito-
Please tell us about Adidas’ “three loop strategies”.

 

Sailer –
Sustainability is an innovative initiative. There are three major goals to achieve this. One is the recycling loop, which is the goal of switching to sustainable raw materials. As I mentioned earlier, we will switch to recycled materials that “PARLEY OCEAN PLASTIC,” has collected which would be recycled plastic waste collected from remote islands and coastal areas. The other is Circular Loop, which we have developed a 100% recyclable running shoe called “FUTURECRAFT.LOOP”. Since it is made of a single material, it can be collected and melted to make new shoes. It has already been commercialized overseas. The last one is the regeneration loop. It is an effort to make products from renewable raw materials and eco-friendly energy, just like returning the products to the soil. In April 20021, we developed a material from mycelium that resembles mushroom roots. Stan Smith also uses some of that material.

 

Saito-
Lastly, please tell us your vision for the future

 

Sailer –
At the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics, I was able to see athletes from all over the world realizing their dreams and aiming for their personal best while fighting seriously. This is our purpose and mission. At this Olympic and Paralympic Games, not only men’s and women’s soccer, but also beach soccer and blind soccer wore the same uniform design of Samurai Blue. Especially for blind soccer, the uniforms have been different so far. Is it a small thing?

Maybe, but we were able to bring about the transformation of diversity.

I always try to have conversations in order to spread the essence of diversity and sustainability within the company. It’s sustainable to stop using plastic bottles, but you need to dig deeper and understand why you need them. To that end, we hold study sessions throughout the company to have a common understanding of harassment and sustainability.