Adidas
AdiGreen: Revolutionizing Sustainability in Sportswear.
Adapting to the Eco-Conscious Consumer
Enabling Adidas to adapt to changing consumer behaviors and provide personalized shopping experiences that cater to the growing number of environmentally conscious customers demanding more sustainability and social responsibility.
A Dual Challenge
Adidas, the world's second-largest sportswear brand, faced a dual challenge: meeting the demands of eco-conscious consumers while maintaining profitability and shareholder satisfaction. The mission was to seamlessly integrate sustainability into the Adidas experience while enhancing personalization.
Partnering for Better Outcomes
Adidas collaborates with these companies and agencies to achieve better sustainable outcomes.
Where Adidas Stands Today
Adidas Overview
The world's second-biggest sportswear brand after Nike — 2,100 retail stores worldwide, with footwear generating 55% of brand revenue and 22.5% of net sales coming from the USA. Major competitors: Nike, Puma, and Asics.
Commitment to Sustainability
A roadmap and vision for the next 30 years to achieve specific sustainability goals, a detailed annual report published every year on progress made, and partnerships with several organisations for sustainable raw material procurement.
What's Working vs. What's Lacking
What's Working
What's Lacking
Gen Z in the USA
67M — the Gen Z population in the USA. 80% shop online, and 73% would pay more for sustainable products. Their cultural values: upbringing & education (understanding the importance of recycling, reducing waste, and conserving energy), alternate lifestyle (more inclined towards veganism and minimalism), social consciousness (a desire to make a positive impact on the world), and peer influence (more likely to purchase based on recommendations from friends or influencers). Source: McKinsey & Company.
Taylor Haynes, 24 — Marketing Executive
Taylor is a young professional working in a high-paying job. She is passionate about sustainability and the environment. She grew up in a family that prioritised sustainable practices and wants to continue that tradition.
Goals
- Reduce her carbon footprint, make sustainable choices
- Learn more about sustainable materials and how they can be used to create stylish, functional products
- Support companies that are committed to sustainability
- Inspire others in her professional and personal life to make sustainable choices
Frustrations
- Lack of transparency in the fashion industry
- Limited personalisation and selection of sustainable products available in stores and online
- Often overwhelmed by the amount of information available — wants a tool that can help her make informed decisions
AdiGreen — Sustainable Product Customizer
Three Pillars
Empower
Educate users on sustainable material choices.
Transparent
Make the sustainability value of materials visible.
Personalize
Increase customization options for sustainable choices.
The Customizer
Users define a shoe across three parameters — Sustainability, Durability and Lifespan — and see the trade-off shift in real time as they change materials. If the sustainable value drops too low, a prompt suggests a better material to improve it.
Discovery — featured in Drops, tagged across the collection, always one tap from Customise
Customizer — sustainability, durability and lifespan update live as materials change
AI-recommended customization, celebrity collections, AR try-on, and AdiCredit rewards
Impact That Matters
Source: McKinsey & Company
Sustainable Packaging
Packaging designed to be more sustainable and cost-effective — using 20–57% less paper and occupying 20–50% less volume during storage and transportation — and built to convert into a carry or shoulder bag for the customer.
Where AdiGreen Stands Out
Adidas's major competitors in sportswear are Nike, Puma, and Asics. The research above found that Adidas's own sustainability efforts already compare well on commitment and transparency, but lag on customisation — AdiGreen's core bet is that making the sustainability trade-off visible and personal at the point of purchase is the gap competitors haven't closed either.
Beyond the App
Store / Kiosk
Nature-inspired pop-up displays featuring plants, trees, and natural elements alongside the sustainable products, with interactive video and game displays that educate customers about each product's sustainability.
Urban Touchpoints
Interactive kiosks made from sustainable materials like bamboo or recycled plastic, sustainable street art, pop-up shops with discounts and promos, and social media campaigns encouraging customers to share their sustainable purchases.
Rolling Out AdiGreen
P1
0–6 monthsLaunch the AdiGreen shoe customizer for the digital world.
Implement revamped sustainable packaging for the footwear product lines.
Launch all AdiGreen display ads and press releases across mediums.
P2
6–12 monthsExpand the AdiGreen customizer to other apparel products.
Build an AdiGreen corner in Adidas flagship stores and other touch points.
P3
12–24 monthsBring the whole Adidas sustainable product line, including accessories, under the Customiser Upgrade and unify it across every product line.
Revamp other touchpoints — assembly, logistics, distribution, retail, and the end-of-life give-back program — to help achieve the overall sustainability goal.
Original roadmap
Designed by You, Built for the Future
The AdiGreen movement, brought to life outside the app itself — the same shoe, the same tagline, the same call to action.
What AdiGreen Sets Out to Prove
AdiGreen sets out to prove that sustainability and personalization can work together, not against each other — giving Adidas a way to meet the growing demand for environmentally conscious, socially responsible shopping experiences without asking customers to choose between style and impact. From the customizer itself to packaging and physical touchpoints, every part of the concept is built around the same idea: sustainable choices should be visible, personal, and easy — not an afterthought.