By Antoine Dufay
CSR and sustainability are issues that are becoming more and more important in the strategy and communication of brands.
Adidas has positioned itself since the 2000s as a major player in environmental protection, adopting several methods.
There is the creation of planet-friendly products, which translates into the use of recycled production factors, organic raw materials, the non-use of certain toxic products and the execution of greener manufacturing processes.
The first step is the use of "clean" materials. According to the brand's official website, since 1998 Adidas has implemented a list of products banned from use: as of 2017, less than one percent of adidas products contain PVC. In addition to the latter, the brand with the 3 stripes has developed a program called "better cotton", for materials from sustainable agriculture.
Since 2000, Adidas has been the only sportswear brand to publish an annual report on its environmental activities. Through this report, we can find the following elements:
"first, Adidas has eliminated materials, treatments and activities that are polluting for the environment and now uses, only bio-based materials and practices that are vectors of sustainable development." (From Adidas' annual report)
Second, Adidas will use recycled materials, as long as technology allows.
Finally, as explained earlier, the company is investing in sustainable cotton, using it but also supporting the producers of this clean cotton by investing money in the project called "Better Cotton Initiative". The latter is intended to improve the environmental footprint of the cotton industry.
How does the brand communicate its initiatives?
Again, the company uses different channels:
The main strategy is to use the aura of major sporting events to be more visible in order to inform about the brand's ideals in terms of sustainable development and to raise awareness, through its products. More recently, the brand asked Paul Pogba (soccer star) to promote a new type of Vegan shoes (we will come back to this in the article dedicated to sponsoring and ambassadors).
Another example during the 2012 Olympic Games in London, especially during the tennis matches: all the players are dressed by the equipment manufacturer with new products from sustainable development. For example, Murray and Tsonga wore T-shirts made from bottles.
The challenge is very important for the group: to promote sustainable development in the manufacture of its products while offering a high level of performance.
According to the group, "it is very important for our athletes to wear sustainable development products. We can consider that sustainability is supported by people who symbolize effort and virtue. Athletes can be assured that Adidas has made considerable efforts to maximize the promotion of sustainability products, without overshadowing the performance of execution that is recognized to the brand."
Finally, Adidas partnered with a startup called Stuffstr for an innovative campaign. Indeed, Adidas customers will be able to return their items purchased in the last 5 years in order to recycle them. In exchange for this gesture, consumers will receive vouchers up to 23 euros. Thus, the brand directly involves the consumer in its CSR strategy.
It is not long before all well-known brands follow Adidas' lead in working to preserve a green environment. Indeed, a study reveals that 75% of consumers believe that the CSR aspect is important, and more than a third of them declare that they have already switched from their favorite brand to another one on this environmental criterion.
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