02.23.2023

Under Armour Joins Ellen MacArthur Foundation, Highlights the Importance of Advancing Circularity

A key focus of UA’s sustainability strategy is to support its industry’s transition to a circular economy

Embracing a circular business model is critical to the future of the planet and to the apparel, footwear, and accessories sector. By optimizing resources and working to extend the lifespan of products, companies can accomplish more with fewer inputs – effectively reducing waste and consumption to support people and the environment.

 

A key focus of Under Armour’s long-term sustainability strategy is to transition from a linear manufacturing system to a circular manufacturing system. In a linear manufacturing system, products are produced from new, raw materials, used, and then thrown away; in a circular system, existing products, or elements of them, are circulated – through reuse or repair – to deliver new and innovative products. Achieving a circular economy is a team sport that will require extensive collaboration across communities, companies, and industries globally to create infrastructures that support a circular approach. Under Armour is committed to doing its part and is actively exploring how to design and build products out of low-impact materials that are “circular ready.”

 

To further accelerate this work, and to underscore its ongoing commitment to industrywide collaboration, Under Armour recently joined the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s Network as a Member. The Foundation is a leading international charity that works with businesses, academia, policymakers, cities, and thought leaders across the globe to promote the circular economy. 

“Joining the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s Network demonstrates our determination to locate the best collaborators and solution providers to bring about impactful change to our industry.”

Taylor Burgdorf, Lead, Environmental Product Sustainability, Under Armour

The Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s global Network will assist the brand with evaluating collaboration opportunities across its global supply chain to reduce, reuse, repair, resell, and recycle resources. For Under Armour, embracing circularity begins with rethinking the lifecycle of UA products, beginning with the design phase. The Foundation’s educational resources will help UA teammates live out the brand’s core value of ‘Act Sustainably’ by advising how to prioritize opportunities, understand trade-offs, and make informed decisions during product creation.

 

UA’s commitment to innovation is centric to its vision to inspire athletes with performance solutions they never knew they needed and can’t imagine living without. This commitment is central to progressing the company’s circularity goals to embrace material innovations that will enable less waste and more durability, setting the stage for circular systems by 2030. 

“As the world changes around us, Under Armour remains focused on acting to respect people, on how we design and build our products, and on using materials that will keep them in play as long as possible.”

Michael Levine, VP & Chief Sustainability Officer, Under Armour

Additional circularity-focused goals and efforts currently underway are outlined in Under Armour’s 2021 Sustainability & Impact Report and include:

  • Targeting for at least half of UA products to adhere to sustainability and circular design principles by 2027, with initial products available for sale in Fall/Winter 2024.
  • Developing chemistry and/or processes that can enable a circular footwear program to be launched in market, at scale, by 2030.
  • Implementing a take-back pilot in one or more regions, expanding circularity solutions globally by 2025.
  • Extending the life of at least 75% of damaged and defective products and reducing manufacturing waste through recycling and repair by 2025.
  • Launching a roadmap to ensure recyclability for UA apparel and accessories by 2030.

 

To learn more about Under Armour’s sustainability program, including its circularity strategy, visit this link