Dive Brief:

• Adidas Thursday announced a three-year research effort funded by the European Union, called Sport Infinity, to develop soccer cleats that can be recycled many times over, eschew chemical additives, and create near-zero waste.

• The move comes amid growing concerns over the economic impact of garment production, with performance products like sportswear often using chemicals and a lot of water.

• Environmental activists, for their part, are taking a wait-and-see position until they see whether the action has any real positive impact.

Dive Insight:

Adidas’s move here is not just a reaction to increased concerns over the environmental damage caused by garment and sport gear production, but also the concerns that many younger consumers have about the environment. Adidas executive board member Glenn Bennett said that taking action to improve the environmental impact of its products would “contribute to lasting economic success.”

Indeed, clothing brands like H&M and Levi’s are also making moves to address environmental fallout from making their products. Brands getting kudos for these efforts are mainly European, though, with Adidas Group, Kering, Burberry, H&M, and Gildan Activewear all listed in this year’s Dow Jones Sustainability Indices, ranking them among the highest in sustainability performance. 

“Sustainability is a very important value to this cohort,” NPD Group sports industry analyst Matt Powell told the Wall Street Journal.