Adidas by Stella McCartney unveils 'first of its kind' eco sportswear garment

By

Sandra Halliday

Published
Sep 22, 2022

Adidas by Stella McCartney is continuing to push further into sustainability and has revealed what it says is a “first of its kind sportswear garment designed to demonstrate the potential of a circular fashion ecosystem”. It’s a tracksuit that will be available from 6 October.

It added that after working with “with leading names and innovators in the fashion industry to create, test, and innovate”, its new tracksuit “forms the pinnacle expression of the brand’s pilot circularity program, Made to Be Remade”. 

That’s a take-back scheme where consumers can return a worn-out item by scanning a QR code via the product and the firm’s app so it can be remade. Adidas said this will move it “closer to its goal to help end plastic waste”.

It’s the sports giant’s first approach to extending the lifespan of products, following the launch of its Futurecraft loop shoe, an early prototype in helping keep footwear in play for longer.  

With estimates that just under 1% of all textiles worldwide are recycled into new textiles at present, the consortium Adidas has put together for its three-year project includes Frankenhuis that has collected and sorted post-consumer end-of-life textiles. Using “pioneering” Infinited Fiber tech, they’ve been “regenerated” into a new man-made cellulosic fibre called Infinna. We’re told this “looks and feels just like virgin cotton”. 

It’s been turned into a yarn blended with organic cotton, for garment production and the tracksuit is made using 60% viscose and 40% organic cotton.

The oversized piece “blends peach-soft material with a neutral light grey and black colour palette to provide a contemporary canvas for the next generation to move through the world”.

Another consortium partner, Aalto University (a Finnish multidisciplinary community specialising in science, art, tech and design), will at the end of the project distribute the knowledge that has been derived from it.

McCartney said of all this: “Sport is about always evolving the approach, and material innovation is no different. More than ever, we are being challenged to find new solutions to deliver the potential for circular fashion, so it's been hugely exciting to collaborate with like-minded thinkers in the fashion landscape to help not only us, but the industry, invent, innovate and consciously design. 

“We are truly proud to have produced a garment that provides an end of life of existence, whilst also staying true to Adidas by Stella McCartney's signature style – for next generation activists.”