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The fate of old sneakers is to turn energy into waste reprocessing furnaces

On January 24, the tennis brand Adidas launched the voluntary program "Sustainable Footprint", which aims to minimize the environmental impacts caused by the incorrect disposal of sports shoes.

The project consists of collecting the sneakers, of any brand and that are not suitable for use, and delivering them to Adidas stores. The donor must sign a shoe donation term for reuse purposes and, in exchange, he/she receives a gift from the store. Adidas has seven stores and 11 outlets in greater São Paulo, where the program has already started. Until April, those who collaborate with the “Sustainable Footprint” will receive a ticket to the Football Museum, located in the Pacaembu stadium, in the capital. Freebies vary by city. Starting in March, the program will be spread throughout the country.

How it works

All donations will be forwarded to the reverse logistics company RCR Ambiental. There, the company mischaracterizes the footwear, that is, it makes the residue look nothing like the original product. "This is a very important aspect for anyone working in the field of reverse logistics", says Eduardo Gomes, general director of RCR. Shredded waste is co-processed. This strange term means that the leftover sneakers will be sent, in accordance with environmental regulations, to cement kilns in waste blending (mixing) plants and will replace a considerable part of the fuel that would be spent in such a process. In this way, the program contributes to the economy of natural resources. “This action is part of Adidas' commitment to continuing global programs and creating a Brazilian platform for sustainability”, stresses Fernando Basualdo, General Director of Adidas Brasil.

Story

Sporting goods company Adidas is German, not American, as many people think. Confusion is very frequent due to the brand's slogan “All Day I Dream About Sports”, whose initials form the word ADIDAS and which means, in English: every day I dream about sports. However, the name came from its founder Adolf Dassler. Adi was Adolf's nickname and Das came from Dassler, his last name.

Adolf Dassler started making shoes with his brother Rudolf Dassler in 1920, right after World War I, in the Bavarian region. In 1936, the Dassler brothers convinced African-American sprinter Jesse Owens to wear Adidas shoes at the Summer Olympics. On that occasion, the athlete won four gold medals and, with that, aroused the interest of sports clubs in the brand. The audacity of the Dassler Brothers, in facing Hitler's segregationist policy, made Adidas a pioneering brand.

Things haven't changed much since then when it comes to daring and innovation. The company is a model when it comes to sustainability and has several inclusive and preservation projects. The most prominent sustainable ones are: 100% Better Cotton, which encourages the cultivation of cotton with less impact; and another program that preaches the reduction of PVC-type plastic, replacing this material with water-based adhesives. The German headquarters and five US offices also aim to cut their carbon emissions by 30% by 2015.

Find these and other collection points for consumables in the Recycling Stations section.