Adidas taps old sneakers for China’s ‘first sustainable’ football pitch

Chengdu, China – Adidas has opened a ‘sustainable’ sports park in the Sichuan capital of Chengdu using discarded sneakers as key materials to build the facility.

The German sports major opened No. 20 Sports Park, which covers a total area of 30,000 square metre, on 25 March with the aim to “cultivate a new generation of football power and promote fitness”.

Adidas said it designed the “first sustainable football stadium in the country” in partnership with former Chinese footballer Zou Yougen, using 40,000 pairs of used sneakers.

The process involved recycling discarded sneakers and then remaking them into recycled materials made of rubber/TPU and other particles.

Adidas then covered the materials with “recyclable and environmentally friendly lawns”, turning the sports field into a “special low-carbon sports space.”

Furthermore, the old shoes were "reborn" into 800 square meters of cushions, rest chair cushions and entrance mats for the stadium base.

In addition, Adidas also recycled shoelaces and remade them into goal nets.

“[The process] greatly reduces the carbon emissions of football field construction, reduces the environmental footprint, and makes it a veritable green stadium,” said Adidas.