Adidas To Donate Proceeds From Kanye-Branded Shoes

NPR reports:

Adidas plans to sell its stock of unsold Yeezy shoes and will donate the proceeds from the sales to charity, CEO Bjorn Gulden said Thursday. The German athletic and footwear brand cut ties with Kanye West late last year over his antisemitic remarks — leaving the company to figure out what to do with its Yeezy merchandise.

During Adidas’ annual shareholder meeting Thursday, Gulden said the company spent months thinking of options on what to do with the unsold sneakers, such as talking with several nongovernmental organizations. One of the options included simply destroying the shoes, but the company ultimately decided against it, Gulden said.

Read the full article. Gulden says proceeds will go to as yet unnamed organizations “that were hurt” by West’s pro-Hitler rants.

International Sportswear brand Adidas has decided to sell Yeezy shoes and clothes it produced with US rapper Kanye West and donate a portion of the proceeds to charity, after the rapper, now known as Ye, made anti-Semitic remarks on his social media handles. #Adidas #Yeezy pic.twitter.com/cRBKdLV3uJ

— HornbillTV (@hornbilltv) May 12, 2023