Dollar Vote: Adidas

Dollar Vote: Adidas

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In light of growing moral demand on institutions and corporations, Worldview has developed Dollar Vote, a recurring segment that investigates ethical consumption, production, and marketing from some of the world’s biggest brands. Since spring is the time when everyone likes to get their workout back on track, we’re going to kick the inaugural Dollar Vote off with a review of Adidas and sizing up how they score in the corporate social responsibility game.

Adidas produces hundreds of millions of sneakers every year, most of which depend on virgin plastic. A company press release has stated they want to completely eliminate that from their supply chain. They have a running start in the way of their collaboration with the conservation organization Parley for the Oceans. With the partnership of Parley, Adidas has updated one of their most popular shoes, the Ultra Boost, with yarns made out of upcycled plastic ocean waste collected from beaches and coastal communities in the Maldives. Journalist Liz Lazar looked into whether Adidas’ greenwashing is earned.