Adidas former brands head takes plant-based apparel to Mammut

Bloomberg

When Eric Liedtke was head of global brands for Adidas AG, he partnered the German company with celebrities like Beyonce and the rapper formerly known as Kanye West.
Since departing three years ago, Liedtke has launched his own sports and streetwear brand, the Unless Collective, dedicated to building out the market for plastic-free and fully plant-based shoes and apparel.
Now, Unless is partnering with another European sports company for its first collaboration — a line of biodegradable hoodies and t-shirts with Switzerland’s Mammut Sports Group, which is owned by London-based private equity firm Telemos Capital.
The products were launched to coincide with International Mountain Day. That’s an important date on the calendar of 160-year-old climbing brand Mammut, which is headquartered just outside of Zurich and has a staff of about 800 people, many of whom are devoted mountaineers.
“They truly share our vision to disrupt the apparel industry with plant-based solutions that will ensure we can continue to protect and enjoy our wild places for generations to come,” Liedtke said. The products will be sold by Mammut in Europe and the US — the hoodie for $130 and the t-shirt for $50.
It’s the first partnership for Unless, which earlier this month launched a minimalist $139 shoe called The Degenerate. Based in Portland, Oregon, Liedtke envisions partnering in the future with bigger brands, perhaps even Nike Inc. or his old employer Adidas.
Mammut CEO Heiko Schaefer said collaborating with Unless made sense. He knows Liedtke from their time together at Adidas, and many of his employees spend their weekends and vacations among the Alpine glaciers — and are concerned those glaciers are disappearing.
“We want to do something for the planet and CO2 emissions,” Schaefer said. “This is something that raises attention with consumers and allows us to talk about that topic. That’s why I said yes, let’s do that.”
The partnership Liedtke helped develop with West, now known as Ye, was one of Adidas’s most financially successful, but ended abruptly in October when the company cut ties with the rapper.