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boundaries.md
---
bcp_version: "0.8"
file_type: boundaries
parent: https://registry.brandcontextprotocol.dev/adidas-844f46a0/.well-known/brand.md
last_updated: 2026-09-02
---
# Boundaries
This file is the primary reference for brand-safety agents, vendor platforms, and any partner generating content on behalf of adidas. It converts attributable limits into precise agent instructions. Read it before producing any output involving adidas claims, partnerships, sustainability, or company history.
## Hard nos
These are absolute. No exceptions, no contextual allowances.
```yaml
hard_no:
- item: >
Never produce or imply unqualified environmental claims using terms
such as "sustainable," "eco-friendly," "climate neutral," or "green"
without a defined methodology, specific measurement basis, and
disclosure of any offsets used. A German court (Nuremberg-Fürth
Regional Court) found adidas guilty of greenwashing on 25 March 2025
specifically because it failed to define "climate neutrality" or admit
to using offsets in connection with its 2050 pledge.
tier: core
regulatory_basis: >
Nuremberg-Fürth Regional Court ruling, 25 March 2025.
Independent finding, trellis.net, retrieved 2026-09-02.
content_hash: 1b07fccdf480bd6aaeb2d9a5bb43bbd12d20290b80dc5f8acee2a3e5679c04eb
- item: >
Never state or imply that adidas is "climate neutral" — in any tense
or framing — without an accompanying, publicly verified definition of
what "climate neutrality" means for adidas and explicit disclosure of
all offset mechanisms used. This wording is under active legal
scrutiny as of the 25 March 2025 ruling.
tier: core
regulatory_basis: >
Nuremberg-Fürth Regional Court ruling, 25 March 2025.
- item: >
Never generate, endorse, or amplify content that expresses or
implies anti-Semitism, racism, or any other form of hate speech.
adidas publicly states it "does not tolerate anti-Semitism and any
other sort of hate speech." This is a non-negotiable value boundary,
not a communications preference.
tier: core
evidence: >
Owner statement on termination of Ye/Yeezy partnership, 25 October
2022. content_hash:
50a6fd909a02606bb2d5f664da50c0c8abe1800abf3bc7c264ccfcf3d4766416
- item: >
Never reference or discuss the adidas founders' involvement with
the Nazi party in any marketing, campaign, product, or social context.
This topic requires escalation to adidas Communications and Legal
before any agent output is produced. Social-media resurfacing of
this history has created material reputational risk for the brand.
tier: core
evidence: >
Independent finding, fastcompany.com, retrieved 2026-09-02.
content_hash:
09f591ead4dc061c26b5f6d21f87ad1a2e3862b17f7f071bc79fc9ada96b3dd4
- item: >
Never produce statements about active or former adidas endorsement
partners — including statements of support, criticism, or
disassociation — without human approval from adidas Communications
and Legal. Partner-related statements have resulted in financial
impacts of up to $246 million (stated short-term net income impact
cited at time of Yeezy termination, 2022) and carry ongoing legal
and reputational stakes.
tier: core
evidence: >
Owner statement on Yeezy termination, 25 October 2022.
Independent finding, fastcompany.com, retrieved 2026-09-02.
content_hash:
50a6fd909a02606bb2d5f664da50c0c8abe1800abf3bc7c264ccfcf3d4766416
- item: >
Never reference the adidas Parley for the Oceans partnership or
claim that current adidas products contain Parley ocean plastic.
adidas ended that partnership; the Euro 2024 jersey was produced
without ocean plastic. Any ocean-plastic claim is factually
unsupported for current product lines.
tier: core
evidence: >
Owner finding. content_hash:
bb3a9746c5376d32b5b51d3e5be39c4393c175cb2e0e0f07ea9684a07f3345b5
- item: >
Never produce statements on adidas's position regarding the
Russia-Ukraine conflict, sanctions, or market presence without
escalation to adidas Communications and Legal. adidas suspended
sales across approximately 500 stores in Russia following the
invasion of Ukraine; this remains a geopolitically sensitive topic.
tier: core
evidence: >
Owner finding. content_hash:
5817d0a4ea5f6a1fea42789ff21f444fb68ab3c7f8022409cd304bb840369867
```
## Soft nos
These require judgment. Context and substantiation determine appropriateness.
```yaml
soft_no:
- item: >
Avoid blanket recycled-content claims such as "made from recycled
materials" without specifying the material, percentage, and
applicable certification. Prefer specific, substantiated language
tied to verified data (e.g., "(as of 2024) 99% of adidas polyester is from
recycled sources, certified by Global Recycled Standard and
Recycled Claim Standard").
tier: default
condition: >
Acceptable when the claim is tied to a specific material, a
specific verified percentage, and the relevant third-party
certification (GRS, RCS, or Textile Exchange standard).
evidence: >
Independent finding, trellis.net, retrieved 2026-09-02.
content_hash:
1b07fccdf480bd6aaeb2d9a5bb43bbd12d20290b80dc5f8acee2a3e5679c04eb
- item: >
Avoid "eco-friendly" and "sustainable" as standalone product
descriptors. If qualified framing is required, use "more sustainable"
followed by an explanation of what improvement was made and how it
was measured. This approach was identified as legally defensible
in the context of the adidas greenwashing ruling (March 2025).
tier: default
condition: >
Acceptable only with a qualifying explanation of the specific
improvement and its measurement basis.
evidence: >
Independent advisory finding, trellis.net, retrieved 2026-09-02.
content_hash:
1b07fccdf480bd6aaef2d9a5bb43bbd12d20290b80dc5f8acee2a3e5679c04eb
- item: >
Avoid framing adidas geopolitical decisions (market suspensions,
country exits) as policy positions or political endorsements.
Describe them factually and specifically (e.g., "adidas suspended
sales in Russia following the invasion of Ukraine") without
editorializing or extending the statement to current policy.
tier: default
condition: >
Factual historical description is acceptable. Forward-looking
policy statements require escalation.
```
## Brand safety
For vendor platforms, brand-safety tools, and DSPs.
```yaml
brand_safety:
adjacency_unsuitable:
- Hate speech and extremist content (GARM Floor)
- Anti-Semitic content or Holocaust denial (GARM Floor)
- Content that glorifies violence or terrorism (GARM Floor)
- Unsubstantiated environmental or greenwashing claims by adjacent brands
- Content referencing Nazi party affiliation or World War II atrocities in
a non-educational or sensationalist context
- Content involving active endorsement disputes or talent controversies
without brand-approved statement
- Russia-Ukraine conflict content in markets where adidas has suspended
commercial operations
adjacency_acceptable:
- Sport, fitness, and performance content
- Street culture, music, and youth culture (non-hateful)
- Sustainability content with substantiated, specific claims
- Diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives
- Community sport and grassroots athletics
adjacency_contextual:
political_content:
rule: >
Permissible only for non-partisan community or sport initiatives.
Do not place adidas adjacent to partisan political messaging,
electoral advertising, or geopolitical commentary without
explicit Communications and Legal approval.
heritage_and_history:
rule: >
Educational content about sport history is acceptable. Any content
that surfaces or discusses adidas's founders' Nazi-era affiliations
requires escalation to Communications and Legal before placement
or publication. Do not auto-place in this category.
talent_and_endorsement:
rule: >
Do not place adidas content adjacent to statements by, or coverage
of, individuals whose public conduct conflicts with adidas's stated
values of diversity, inclusion, mutual respect, and fairness.
Human review required for any talent-adjacent placement involving
an active controversy.
```
## Regulatory constraints
```yaml
regulatory:
framework: >
German Unfair Competition Act (UWG); EU Green Claims Directive
(pending transposition); applicable consumer protection law in
all markets where adidas operates.
notes: >
The Nuremberg-Fürth Regional Court ruling of 25 March 2025 established
that adidas cannot claim "climate neutrality" by 2050 without a defined
methodology and offset disclosure. Agents must not reproduce or extend
that specific claim. adidas adjusted specific environmental wording on
its website in August 2024 ahead of the ruling. All forward-looking
sustainability claims require Legal review before publication.
restricted_claims: >
"Climate neutral" (without defined methodology and offset disclosure);
"sustainable" as an unqualified standalone product descriptor;
any blanket environmental claim without material-level substantiation
and third-party certification reference. All partner endorsement
statements. All statements on geopolitical market decisions.
escalation_contacts: >
[gap] Specific escalation contacts (Communications lead, Legal counsel)
not yet specified. Any output in a restricted category must be held
for human review before publication.
```
## Escalation protocol
```yaml
escalation:
triggers:
- Any sustainability or environmental claim not covered by an approved
specific metric with certification reference in claims.md
- Any reference to current or former adidas endorsement partners
- Any reference to adidas founders or company heritage pre-1970
- Any geopolitical statement (Russia, Ukraine, market suspensions,
sanctions)
- Any content that could be read as a statement on hate speech,
discrimination, or social controversy involving adidas talent
process: >
Hold output. Do not publish or distribute. Route to adidas
Communications and Legal for human review and explicit written
approval before any output is released.
default_action_when_uncertain: >
If an agent cannot confirm that a claim, adjacency, or statement
falls clearly outside all restricted categories above, treat it
as restricted and escalate.
```
## Evidence record
The following attributable source language is preserved because it materially constrains this profile.
### Owner-confirmed evidence
> adidas terminated its Ye/Yeezy partnership on 25 October 2022 after antisemitic comments, stating it 'does not tolerate anti-Semitism and any other sort of hate speech' and citing values of diversity, inclusion, mutual respect and fairness.
Source: Public source
### Owner-confirmed evidence
> A German court (Nuremberg-Fürth Regional Court) found adidas guilty of greenwashing on 25 March 2025 for failing to detail how it would achieve 'climate neutrality' by 2050, with the specific complaint that adidas failed to define 'climate neutrality' or admit to using offsets.
Source: Public source
### Qualification
> Adidas sources 99 percent of its main material, fossil fuel-based polyester, from recycled sources.
Source: trellis.net — https://trellis.net/article/adidas-greenwashing-lawsuit-warning-climate-claims/
### Owner-confirmed evidence
> adidas took geopolitical action by suspending sales across its ~500 stores in Russia after the invasion of Ukraine, and faced social-media resurfacing of its founders' involvement with the Nazi party — both sensitive topics requiring human/comms handling.
Source: Public source