adidas commits to reducing carbon, water and waste footprint with new adidas Infinite Play service. © adidas

The London Waste and Recycling Board (LWARB) and QSA Partners have announced a major milestone in their Circular Fashion Fast Forward project, as adidas launches its new adidas Infinite Play service.

LWARB and QSA Partners worked with the global sportswear brand to create the tailored service which will allow adidas and its customers to maximise the value of adidas gear by passing it on instead of sending it to landfill.

adidas Infinite Play, which is available through the adidas app, will allow customers to trade worn or unused adidas gear for an e-gift card and adidas creators club points. The items traded back will then be resold or recycled. The service – a result of a partnership between adidas and the innovative social enterprise Stuffstr – makes it quick and easy for customers to trade items in by offering them the options of free collections or free post.

circular business model

A take-back and resale service like adidas Infinite Play is one of several circular business model companies can use to create more value and profit, whilst reducing their environmental impact. Reuse helps to extend the life of products and increasing the active life of all clothing by nine months would reduce the annual carbon, water and waste footprints of UK clothing by 20-30% each.

As climate change becomes an increasingly urgent issue for the public, brands and retailers that don’t act quickly to address their carbon footprint risk being left behind. A recent study found that 75% of consumers surveyed thought that sustainability was important or extremely important, and more than a third of consumers report they have already switched from their preferred brand to another because it credibly stands for positive environmental and/or social practices.

adidas Infinite Play is available through the adidas app. © adidas

“As a brand we realise the challenges that the linear model has brought. When we talk about throwing things away, there is no ‘away’ – stuff just ends up somewhere else. Our customers have an increased awareness of the impacts of their consumption and the challenges we face as a planet; and they’re asking how they can make a difference. Teaming up with LWARB and QSA partners, we developed adidas Infinite Play to give our customers a better choice so that together we can share the responsibility to reduce our carbon, water and waste footprint,” commented David Quass, Director Business Model Innovation & Brand Partnerships in adidas’ Global Brand Strategy team.

Bridging the gap

LWARB and QSA Partners are taking adidas, Ted Baker, Farfetch and FW on a journey to explore circular economy business models, as part of the C&A Foundation Bridging the Gap initiative. Each brand wants to match their ambition for greater sustainability with their customers’ needs and values. At the end of the project, each will have tested the best circular business model for both their business and their customers.

“With 350,000 tonnes or £140m worth of clothing going into landfill in the UK every year, and £30billion worth sitting unloved at the back of our wardrobes, developments like this are good for business and critical for the environment. Take-back and resale services like adidas Infinite Play help businesses to build customer loyalty while also mitigating some of the worst climate change impacts of the textiles industry. LWARB is proud to be working with adidas and other market players across the industry to illustrate the competitive advantage of circular business models,” commented James Close, Head of LWARB’s Circular London programme.

www.adidas.com