Decathlon has pledged to have all textile products sold in France made from 100 percent more sustainable polyester by the end of 2021. The global sporting goods retailer intends to increase its use of recycled polyester, dope-dyed virgin polyester, and dope-dyed recycled polyester. The commitment is outlined in Decathlon's latest Sustainable Development Report, where the company explains that polyester, which is derived from fossil resources, is mostly used in its textiles and heavy stitching applications. At the end of 2017, 9.4 percent of the company's polyester supply already came from more sustainable sources. Also, the retailer aims to use only sustainably produced cotton by 2020, including recycled cotton, organically farmed cotton and cotton from the Better Cotton Initiative (BCI). In 2017, its use of sustainable cotton jumped to 55.2 percent, from 14.4 percent in 2016. Among the other sustainability goals, Decathlon is continuing to develop locally-based production, in order to be able to respond faster to local market demand and to reduce transport costs and environmental impacts.

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