Can Low Carbon Running Shoes Impress Consumers

A pair of running shoes can reduce carbon emissions by 424 grams, equivalent to recycling 16 beverage bottles.

Will you buy such a pair of low carbon running shoes?

At this year's Expo, Tebu brought the first mass balance low-carbon environmental protection concept running shoe "360-eco". It is said that a single men's shoe of size 41 of "360-eco" can reduce carbon emissions by 212 grams, with a carbon reduction rate of 81%. According to the weight of a 500ml PET beverage bottle is about 20g, and each recycled PET plastic bottle can reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 25.8g, which is equivalent to making a pair of "360-eco" men's shoes, 16 plastic bottles can be recycled.

Under the background of China's "double carbon" policy, more and more sportswear brands have launched low-carbon and environmental protection products, such as Anta's brand-new 2.0 Pro running shoes and peak's state-of-the-art 3.0 GT.

So, can Tebu's "low carbon running shoes" impress consumers?

01 special step on "low carbon running shoes"

Special step wants to create a new role of "low carbon and environmental protection".

In addition to the opening of this Expo, TEB cooperated with costron and Silan group to launch the "360-eco" mass balance low-carbon and environmental protection concept running shoes. As early as 2020, Tebu launched xtep-eco environmental protection technology platform, mainly researching and developing degradable materials. It will open up the supply chain management through "environmental protection of materials", "environmental protection of production" and "environmental protection of taking", so as to strictly create sports products with higher quality and environmental protection ability.

At the beginning of 2021, the brand-new "10-year sustainable development plan" was specially formulated on the 20th anniversary of the brand. The plan focused on three key issues, namely supply chain management, environmental protection and social responsibility. Meanwhile, the concept of sustainable development was embodied in the R & D of each product.

Subsequently, Tebu low-carbon environmental protection shoes and clothing products continue to appear.

In this year's world environment day, special step released 100% polylactic acid environmental protection windbreaker; "360-eco" low carbon and environmental protection concept running shoes were brought to Shanghai Expo.

It can be seen that from the production end of the upstream supply chain, and then to the listing and application of the downstream product lines, Tebu is constantly improving the layout of the whole industrial chain of low-carbon footwear and clothing.

But looking at the global sports brand market, low-carbon environmental protection shoes and clothing is not a new thing.

In 1990, Nike put forward the famous Reuse-A-Shoe recycling plan. In 2009, it launched a revolutionary program called Nike Considered design. The core goal is to reduce the waste and pollution caused in product design and production, including eight major series of Nike lines - ACG, tennis, running, football, women's training, men's training, Sportswear and basketball.

Since the beginning of this year, new and old brands such as susdo and everlane in the United States have continuously obtained financing. Among them, psudo sports shoes are made of unique environment-friendly fabrics made of 75% recycled materials. It is said that for each pair of psudo sports shoes, 7.2 disposable plastic bottles are not allowed to enter the world's oceans and landfills.

China's sports shoes and clothing industry, has long been blowing a "low-carbon wind.".

In 2009, Li Ning cooperated with Japanese enterprises to launch a series of recyclable garments using eco circle fabrics; In 2019, Anta announced that 7.7 million recycled plastic bottles were used as raw materials to produce a series of sportswear. In May this year, Anta released the ESG (environment, society and Governance) report, simultaneously launching the medium and long-term plan for sustainable development.

Why is it "low carbon running shoes" that special step focuses on?

　　 02、 Why "Low carbon running shoes"?

In terms of macro factors, low-carbon environmental protection has become a global consensus, and the high pollution of shoes and clothing industry is attracting more and more social attention. At the same time, under the promotion of double carbon policy, more and more shoe and clothing enterprises are going to the road of low carbon and environmental protection.

According to McKinsey's 2022 fashion industry white paper, clothing industry accounts for a quarter of China's major consumer goods industry carbon emissions, energy consumption accounts for 40% of China's major consumer goods industry, and 70% of the emissions come from the upstream of energy intensive industrial chain, especially flour production, preparation and processing.

Due to the negative impact of global warming and environmental change on people's lives, the sustainable development of footwear and clothing industry and low-carbon production coverage is urgent. Under the background of the dual carbon policy, this also puts forward higher requirements for the clothing industry ESG governance, covering the selection of raw materials, production and manufacturing, product design, user environmental education, etc., so the shoe and clothing industry has to be low-carbon environmental protection.

　　 For Tebu itself, new stories are needed to deepen the moat of the running shoe market.

As we all know, Tebu is proud of running shoes. Since 2007, the company has made a comprehensive layout in the field of running shoes, established the special running group in 2012, and announced in September this year that it will become a brand-new brand strategic positioning of "world-class Chinese running shoes". Tebu has grasped the discourse power of China's running shoes market. According to official statistics, at present, there are 30 running clubs in the mainland, with more than 1.3 million members of the special running group, far surpassing the players in the same industry in this field.

Running shoes are the foundation of special step and brand growth, In the future, if Tebu wants to continue to lead the development of the industry, it needs a continuous supply of innovation.

Why low carbon running shoes, not other environmental protection products?

At present, there are two ways for sportswear brands to make environmental protection shoes and clothing products; Second, the whole or most of the materials used in the products are produced with environmentally friendly raw materials, including recycled materials and recyclable materials, such as TPU, recycled PET (plastic bottle material), restore yarn, etc.

Most of the "360-eco" low-carbon and environmental protection concept running shoes are made of biomass and recycled biomass, The key factor is the rate of carbon reduction. Under the background of double carbon, the country has more stringent carbon emission requirements for clothing enterprises. The carbon reduction rate of Tebu's single "360-eco" men's running shoes is as high as 81%, far higher than the carbon reduction rate of other environmental protection shoes in the same industry. This is not what some running shoes with environmental protection fabrics can do.

Moreover, making low-carbon running shoes not only contributes to the response to the dual carbon policy and carbon reduction rate, but also contributes to the cash flow of enterprises. Nowadays, every manufacturing enterprise has the requirement of carbon target every year. The enterprises whose carbon target emission exceeds the standard even need to purchase the carbon emission index of other enterprises not exceeding the standard through the trading system, so as to achieve the balance of carbon emission. This shows the importance of carbon reduction rate.

　　 Of course, Tebu's future road to environmental protection is not just to make low-carbon running shoes. Tian Zhong, CEO of Tebu group, also said, "at present, sustainable development and green environmental protection have become the new trend of consumption. Tebu hopes to adhere to sustainable development through a green low-carbon supply chain and influence consumers to integrate sustainability into their lifestyle through running. As the core product of Tebu, running shoes have taken the lead in transformation."

The company also announced that each year, the main brand will launch at least 60 clothing products using environmentally friendly fabrics; New brands such as sokoni and Melo will also increase the proportion of products using recyclable and organic materials.

Moreover, the implementation of the "Five Year Plan" strategy also requires the export of new strategic products to find an incremental market. Among them, the Fifth Five-Year Plan is also clear, and the main brand of Tebu will still be a big driving force for the growth of the group in the next few years.

It can be seen that to become a special feature of "world-class Chinese running shoes", more new stories and products are needed to move the market. It's just that the new story of low carbon running shoes is easy to tell?

　　 03、 It's not special "Antidote"

In fact, to tell the new story of low-carbon environmental protection is a long-term thing for brands. In the sports apparel industry, there is no lack of stories of long-term doctrine, but it should be based on the following two aspects of the enterprise's clear understanding of the goal: first, believe that the goal can be achieved; 2、 Knowing that the goal can't be achieved overnight.

Tebu has the same understanding. From the formulation of the "10-year sustainable development plan" to the establishment of xtep-eco environmental protection technology platform, opening up the environmental protection supply chain, and then to the application and implementation of products, Tebu has strived forward on the road of low-carbon environmental protection.

It's just a practice of strategy and goals, First of all, there must be performance fundamentals to support.

According to the financial report, in the first half of 2022, Tebu's revenue reached 5.713 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 37.44%; The net profit reached 590 million yuan, a year-on-year increase of 38.42%. However, in the first half of 2022, Tebu inventory turnover days reached 106 days, an increase of 27 days over the same period of last year; As of June 30, the inventory was 2.31 billion yuan, up 111% year on year. The inventory turnover days in the third quarter reached about 135 days.

For a sports shoes and clothing brand, the number of days of inventory turnover has soared, which means that the company's products are slow in delivery and sales lag. With the high inventory rate, cash flow will also be under pressure. Since 2005, there have been three negative operating cash flows in Tebu, namely, 2005, 2006 and the first half of 2022; Among them, in the first half of 2022, the net cash of Tebu business decreased by 139% year-on-year to -268 million yuan.

　　 The high inventory rate, cash flow can not keep up with the new products, no matter how environmentally friendly and low-carbon, I am afraid it can not stimulate consumers' higher enthusiasm. To the enterprise itself, creating a new image of low-carbon and environmental protection is only an additional means to strengthen the brand image and improve the brand tonality, and can not solve the "food and clothing problem" of enterprises.

For example, Nike, Anta and other global sports apparel top brands, on the basis of their own status, sales and performance are guaranteed, and then establish the public image of "low carbon and environmental protection", which is conducive to the growth of brand sales; But for the middle and low-end enterprises, what should be considered at this stage is how to survive in the involution sports story industry, improve their brand competitiveness, and continuously export innovative products to drive sales.

In essence, Low carbon running shoes are just icing on the cake, not urgently needed.

　　 At this stage, the stock rate is high and the cash flow is negative. How to sell the products quickly may be the key to survival. It is true that long-term principles such as building a brand image of low-carbon and environmental protection also need to be done. After all, this is the general trend of the domestic clothing industry.

But this road is also doomed to be long. At present, the global environmental protection shoes and clothing industry is still in the primary stage, and the popularization and application of products are in the exploration stage. Due to the necessity of low-carbon and environmental protection production transformation, some enterprises even have some problems such as false propaganda and false manufacturing.

For example, allbirds, an American online sports brand focusing on the concept of sustainability, has been sued by a lawyer for the reason that its advertisements are "full of green words". However, the real operation of the brand does not match the marketing strategy of "environmental protection", and the information it advertises is "false, deceptive and misleading".

In summary, under the background of global climate change and environmental pollution, the potential of low-carbon environmental protection products will be unlimited in the future. However, for the brand enterprises of sportswear that are in transition, whether they can really move the market through the concept of "environmental protection" and finally turn it into profits still needs to be tested by the market and time.