adidas by Stella McCartney pilots recyclable hoodie and biodegradable dress

A huge step forward for sustainable fashion
adidas by Stella McCartney
Chloe Street8 July 2019

Textile waste is a major problem for the planet.

And fashion is the primary industry contributing to the 92 million tonnes of it that go into landfill each year.

Stella McCartney, a long-time advocate for sustainable fashion who recently stated she’s ‘not a fan’ of cleaning her clothes, has today unveiled two prototype products for her Adidas collection that, if mass produced, could provide answers to the issue.

The first, the ‘Infinite Hoodie,’ is the world’s first fully recyclable hoodie. Made in partnership with textile innovation company Evrnu, the performance garment is made using 60 per cent NuCycl fibre, a material made using the threads from old garments, and 40 per cent organic cotton that has been diverted from landfills.

Much like the fully recyclable Loop trainer that Adidas unveiled earlier this year, the concept behind the hoodie is that it is made to be remade, creating a completely circular loop where products won’t end up on beaches or landfills in the first place.

Currently just 50 Infinite Hoodies have been made, and gifted to Adidas VIPs and influencers, but there’s nothing to say they won’t hit the production lines soon.

Infinite Hoodie adidas by Stella McCartney

The second product adidas by Stella McCartney has debuted is a prototype 'Biofabric Tennis Dress,' created in partnership with Bolt Threads, a company that specialises in bioengineered sustainable materials and fibres. The tennis dress is the first of its kind, made with cellulose blended yarn and Microsilk, a protein-based material that is made with renewable ingredients, like water, sugar, and yeast and has the ability to fully biodegrade at the end of its life.

“Fashion is one of the most harmful industries to the environment,” said Stella McCartney in a statement. “We can’t wait any longer to search for answers and alternatives. By creating a truly open approach to solving the problem of textile waste, we can help empower the industry at large to bring more sustainable practices into reality. With adidas by Stella McCartney we’re creating high performance products that also safeguard the future of the planet.”

 Biofabric Tennis Dress

At the moment, the tennis dress, which mimics the designs of Stella’s autumn/ winter 2019 collection for Adidas, is a one off prototype, a statement of intent for the brand. However, should it ever reach mass production (which is, unsurprisingly, not without its challenges), such an item would create a loop in which fashion products would suddenly be capable of biodegrading and returning to the natural ecosystem.

“Creating products with upcycled plastic waste was our first step,” said James Carnes, Vice President of Strategy Creation at Adidas, referring to the adidas x Parley shoes the company launched in 2015, made from upcycled waste and illegal deep-sea gillnets.

“The next challenge is to end the concept of waste entirely. Focusing on three core areas, we will explore ways to create products that can either be fully recyclable or biodegradable. We don’t have all the answers and we know we can’t do it alone. By collaborating with partners who share our same vision, as we’ve done with Evrnu and Bolt Threads, we can combine adidas’ sports industry expertise with specialist knowledge to bring about a waste-free world.”

Bravo Adidas x Stella McCartney, bravo.

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