Adidas will sell Yeezy items and donate a portion of the proceeds

Adidas announced on Friday that it will begin selling Yeezy products later this month, for the first time since rapper Ye ended its relationship in October.

The clothing company stopped working with Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, after he made a series of hateful, anti-Semitic comments. Adidas said it will donate a significant portion of proceeds from sales to at least two organizations fighting discrimination and hate, the Anti-Defamation League and the Philonise and Keeta Floyd Institute for Social Change.

“Selling and donating was the preferred option of every organization and stakeholder we spoke to,” Adidas CEO Bjorn Gulden said in a statement.

The ADL aims to fight anti-Semitism while the organization, run by family members of George Floyd, campaigns on criminal and social justice issues. Adidas said it was reviewing many options for what to do with the existing inventory after the partnership with Ye ended and was talking to a diverse group of people about how to proceed.

“We believe this is the best solution because it respects the designed designs and produced shoes, works for our employees, solves an inventory issue and will have a positive impact on our communities,” Gulden said. “Hate of any kind has no place in sport and society and we continue to fight against it.”

The products will only be available through the Adidas website and app.

Adidas said the move will have no immediate impact on its 2023 financial guidance. Adidas’ recent earnings beat expectations but were weighed down by Yeezy inventory build-up.

“The decline in lifestyle and the loss of Yeezy obviously hurts us,” Gulden said during his company’s earnings announcement earlier this month.

Before the split, Adidas had said that the partnership with Yeezy was one of the most successful collaborations in the history of the industry.

In October, the Anti-Defamation League asked Adidas to sever ties with its leading endorser after his hateful remarks. The ADL praised the company’s move on Friday.

“At a time when antisemitism is at historic levels in the US and rising worldwide, we appreciate how adidas has turned a negative situation into a very positive outcome. They have shown genuine consideration in working with community organizations that are fighting this pernicious and persistent hatred,” said ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt.