The six million of AdidasWhile the years happen and the new generations take the control of the products and services that they consume, the companies face the challenges of increasingly demanding costumers, more informed and more connected. This has taken us to a new stage of history, where the technology is the growth impulse for the majority of companies and the production, the key for the competitiveness. Nevertheless, the global rise of consumerism needs a gigantic use of natural resources; the demand is superior in many occasions to the supply, and even though the production already is excessive, we continue trying to sustain all the human desires, where the only victim is Mother Earth.
We are currently facing a drastic problem in the waste we generate: the garbage islands in the Pacific have taken the size of a continent, destroying marine ecosystems; the ozone layer cracks under the weight of thousands of tons of chemical gases and the soil is degraded by fracking and is becoming less fertile by feeding billions of people. We are close to irreversible damage, according to the UN the date set is 2030, where we will have point of no return. In any case, not everything is as gray as the data indicate: more and more people are aware of the ecological damage represented by irresponsible consumption, demanding to companies change their processes and change their (historically toxic) relationship with the environment.
It is precisely this call to action, which has driven various corporate initiatives to keep the excessive use of resources at bay, committing themselves to sustain their clients with the usual production, adapting strategically to avant-garde production levels, such as Sustainable Manufacturing and Lean Manufacturing. Both promoterebalance, so that the concentric circles of the Economy, Society and the Environment would be harmonized.
What is sustainable manufacturing?
It is the transformation of the raw material for the creation of goods and services that use specific processes that minimize the negative impact on the environment and society, efficiently conserve energy and natural resources, are safe for employees and for the community. They also represent an opportunity to obtain profitability and a bond between companies and consumers. Sustainable manufacturing solves the problems between sustainable development and production, and, by applying it, all stakeholders of a company benefit from implementing ecological efficiency.
An impressive example of what sustainable manufacturing can project not only as a production strategy but as a force for change is Adidas, which has sold six million pairs of footwear made with plastic bottles and nets extracted from the ocean in the last two years, along with Parley for the Ocean, an awareness movement on maritime pollution.
Each pair of tennis is made with an average of 11 recycled plastic bottles from the ocean, going through a process of transforming of the plastic to be used as a fabric, where industrial design and eco-innovation are making a gigantic change. Adidas is committed to eliminating virgin plastic from its worldwide production, and has even banned plastic bags from more than 3,000 stores around the globe. By 2019, Adidas promises to produce 11 million pairs of tennis made by 100% recycled plastic.
These changes, made by brands that we all have consumed, can create a real change in the long term. On the other hand, manufacturing has to take a step further in its evolution, allying itself with the environment to give us socially responsible products, promoting a better planet for our future generations.
Treitus seeks to achieve these objectives and transmit them to Mexican manufacturing factories, wishing to be a factor of change, promoting industry and manufacturing regulations in Mexico. At Treitus, we believe that sustainable manufacturing is a reality and it is possible: it is what we need in this completely globalized world, and, although it implies a radical change in traditional production processes, we believe that Earth has earned it.