Adidas aims to eliminate 70 million plastic shopping bags per year by ridding all 14,000-plus of its retail stores of them.
On Earth Day, the athletic giant announced that it will replace all plastic shopping bags in its own stores with paper bags, effective immediately. Russia and Kazakhstan will follow in June. Retail staff will also be trained to ask customers if they really need a paper bag.
Reducing the number of bags we produce also means minimizing our environmental footprint and helps us to become an even more sustainable company,” said Roland Auschel, Executive Board Member, responsible for Global Sales.
Phasing out plastic bags is part of a wider effort to increase the use of more sustainable materials in Adidas’ production. The initiative started last year, when the company announced its partnership with Parley for the Oceans. As a founding member, the company supports Parley for the Oceans in its education and communication efforts, as well as its comprehensive Ocean Plastic Program. The Adidas Group has taken concrete steps to reduce its use of virgin plastic, including the use of plastic microbeads across all of its body care products and by eliminating plastic bottles in meetings at its headquarters in Herzogenaurach, Germany.