Adidas has announced the removal of plastic shopping bags from its own retail stores globally. The announcement was made on April 22, to celebrate Earth Day while reiterating the company's commitment to sustainability. The switch to paper bags has already begun, with Russia and Kazakhstan following in June. Adidas has also been working closely with its franchisees over the last 12 months to have them switch to paper bags by the end of June. In total, this will mean the elimination of around 70 million plastic shopping bags per year across more than 14,000 stores globally. The Adidas initiative to phase-out plastic shopping bags started a year ago, when the company announced its partnership with Parley for the Oceans. The sports group is a founding member of Parley for the Oceans and supports its comprehensive Ocean Plastic Programme (A.I.R., Avoid, Intercept, and Redesign), which aims to end the plastic pollution of the oceans. Adidas has taken additional steps to reduce its use of virgin plastic such as the end of the use of plastic microbeads across all body care products by December 31, 2015, and the elimination of plastic bottles in meetings at its headquarters in Herzogenaurach, Germany as of the third quarter of 2015.

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