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Adidas to Sell Yeezy Merchandise, Donate Proceeds to Charity

Adidas plans to sell Yeezy inventory after axeing a controversial celebrity endorsement. Proceeds will go to charities combating discrimination and hate.
Thursday, Jun 1, 2023

What do you do when you’ve axed a problematic celebrity endorsement, but still have the associated inventory in your warehouse? Adidas has one answer to this question. The company has announced that they will sell some of their Yeezy inventory at the end of this month, VMSD reports.

Back in October, 2022, Adidas abandoned their partnership with Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, following the revelation of antisemitic comments, but the company still has millions of dollars worth of associated merchandise on hand.

The products, however, will have limited availability, only to be found at adidas.com/yeezy and on their CONFIRMED app, which provides access to limited-edition and curated collections. Proceeds from sales will go to charities and organizations “working to combat discrimination and hate, including racism and antisemitism,” according to the VMSD article.

It’s a good lesson in what to do about bad publicity, turning a controversial sponsor into charitable donations.