Is adidas ethical?

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Labor & working conditions Confirmed Against

Adidas bought cotton from children in India

Adidas bought cotton grown by children in India according to a rights group report.

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fortune.com
Adidas, H&M and The Gap bought cotton grown by children in India, rights group’s report says

Education Confirmed In favor

Adidas finances 50 black university scholarships annually

Adidas commits to financing 50 scholarships each year for black employees at universities over the next five years.

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yahoo.com
The company had said it would invest $20 million in programs that support black communities; invest in university scholarships for black employees by financing 50 scholarships each year during the next five years; and increase its number of black employees by committing to filling 30% of all new positions in the U.S. at Adidas and owned-brand Reebok with black and Latinx talent.
Yesterday, in an internal memo obtained by FN — and now posted on the brand's corporate site — Adidas CEO Kasper Rorsted and the company's board of directors had outlined three immediate steps they planned to take in order to address purported racial disparities at the company. The company had said it would invest $20 million in programs that support black communities; invest in university scholarships for black employees by financing 50 scholarships each year during the next five years; and increase its number of black employees by committing to filling 30% of all new positions in the U.S. at Adidas and owned-brand Reebok with black and Latinx talent.

Labor & working conditions Confirmed You decide

Adidas encourages supplier union activities

Adidas encourages suppliers to allow and promote worker union activities through worker-management communication and collective bargaining.

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media.business-humanrights.org
Worker empowerment Adidas encourages suppliers to maintain a "non-interference" environment where trade union activities are not only allowed, but also stimulated through effective systems of worker-management communication and collective bargaining.

Reproductive care Confirmed You decide

Adidas pledges to cover employee travel for abortions

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oregonlive.com
Nike, Adidas pledge to cover employee travel for abortions; Intel’s policy is ambiguous - oregonlive.com
Adidas, a German company with its North American headquarters in Portland, said it will pay up to $10,000 toward travel costs for employees who need to leave a state to seek abortion services.
Nike, Adidas, Salt & Straw and Wieden+Kennedy all issued statements pledging to cover travel costs for employees who need to leave their state for abortion care.
yahoo.com
Adidas is one of the many major retail companies announcing new programs to assist employees in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court officially striking down Roe v.
Adidas Will Pay Up to $10,000 to Provide Abortion Access to Employees
Adidas competitor Nike told FN in a statement on Friday that it would cover travel and lodging expenses when abortion services aren't readily available.

Climate & energy Allegation Against

Environmental Action Germany sued Adidas over alleged false advertising regarding its climate neutrality claims

In 2025, Environmental Action Germany (DUH) sued Adidas over alleged false advertising regarding the company's climate neutrality claims.

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business-humanrights.org
The lawsuit accused Adidas of misleading consumers by advertising itself as climate-neutral by 2050, without providing concrete steps beyond 2030 to achieve that goal.
In 2025, Environmental Action Germany (DUH) sued Adidas over alleged false advertising regarding the company's climate neutrality claims.
yahoo.com
"Adidas deceived its customers with its promise of alleged climate neutrality," Resch said.
yahoo.com
German court rules that Adidas engaged in misleading advertising by claiming climate neutrality by 2050, according to a complaint by environmental group Deutsche Umwelthilfe.
Deutsche Umwelthilfe head Jürgen Resch said that Adidas had deceived its customers through its climate neutrality claim.

Privacy & surveillance Confirmed Against

Adidas breach reveals data security lapses

Adidas experienced a breach indicating lapses in data security.

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foxnews.com
Adidas has officially acknowledged that a third-party vendor suffered a breach, resulting in unauthorized access to consumer data.
If you think you were affected or just want to be cautious, here are some steps you can take right now to stay safe from the Adidas data breach:
Adidas confirms vendor breach: Here’s what we know
Adidas confirms data breach exposing customer personal information via vendor hack | Fox News
German retailer Adidas learned this the hard way. The company recently confirmed a data breach involving one of its external partners, and although it has acknowledged the issue, many important details are still missing.
The Adidas breach shows that even companies with decades of brand equity and a massive global footprint are not immune to lapses in data security.

Workplace equity Allegation Against

Adidas is accused of gender discrimination

A former executive at Adidas filed a lawsuit alleging gender discrimination.

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fox5sandiego.com
Lindsay Gregg, who was Adidas’ head of women’s basketball marketing, is seeking $850,000 in damages, according to a lawsuit filed Monday in Multnomah County, Oregon.
people.com
A former executive at Adidas has filed a lawsuit against the athletic apparel company, alleging gender discrimination.
Former Adidas Executive Sues Company for Alleged Gender Discrimination

Workplace equity Confirmed Against

Adidas meets to report gender marketing bias

Adidas met with its senior HR director to report that it treated a female employee differently than male counterparts in sports marketing.

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nytimes.com
In January 2026, she met with Adidas’ senior human resources director and “reported her belief that Adidas treated her differently than her male counterparts in sports marketing,” the suit says.

Labor & working conditions Ruling Against

Adidas America, Inc. was penalized by OSHA with a Final Order for a worker-protection violation

The final decision states that Adidas America, Inc. Final Order OSHA standard 19100023 C11 Ladders.

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osha.gov

No excerpt available. Read the original source for details.

Privacy & surveillance Allegation Against

A federal court in California declined to toss a class privacy lawsuit brought against Adidas

SAN DIEGO — A federal court in California declined to toss a class privacy lawsuit brought against Adidas, whose website allegedly uses pixel tracking tools to collect consumer information without permission.

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courthousenews.com
SAN DIEGO — A federal court in California declined to toss a class privacy lawsuit brought against Adidas, whose website allegedly uses pixel tracking tools to collect consumer information without permission.
law360.com
A California federal judge has denied a motion from Adidas to toss a proposed class action alleging the apparel company violated a California privacy statute by placing tracking pixels from TikTok Pixel and Microsoft Bing on its website, finding the trackers plausibly constitute a "pen register" under state law.