Mexican authorities accuse Adidas of cultural appropriation in their
sandal design
[August 09, 2025] By
FABIOLA SÁNCHEZ
MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexican authorities are accusing sportswear company
Adidas of plagiarizing artisans in southern Mexico, alleging that a new
sandal design is strikingly similar to the traditional Indigenous
footwear known as huaraches.
The controversy has fueled accusations of cultural appropriation by the
footwear brand, with authorities saying this is not the first time
traditional Mexican handicrafts have been copied. Citing these concerns,
local authorities have asked Adidas to withdraw the shoe model.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said on Friday that Adidas was
already in talks with authorities in the southern Mexican state of
Oaxaca to provide “compensation for the people who were plagiarized,"
and that her government was preparing legal reforms to prevent the
copying of Mexican handicrafts.
The design at the center of the controversy is the “Oaxaca Slip-On," a
sandal created by U.S. designer Willy Chavarría for Adidas Originals.
The sandals feature thin leather straps braided in a style that is
unmistakably similar to the traditional Mexican huaraches. Instead of
flat leather soles, the Adidas shoes tout a more chunky, sports shoe
sole.
According to Mexican authorities, Adidas' design contains elements that
are part of the cultural heritage of the Zapotec Indigenous communities
in Oaxaca, particularly in the town of Villa Hidalgo de Yalálag.
Handicrafts are a crucial economic lifeline in Mexico, providing jobs
for around half a million people across the country. The industry
accounts for around 10% of the gross domestic product of states like
Oaxaca, Jalisco, Michoacán and Guerrero.
For Viridiana Jarquín García, a huaraches creator and vendor in Oaxaca's
capital, the Adidas shoes were a “cheap copy” of the kind of work that
Mexican artists take time and care to craft.
“The artistry is being lost. We're losing our tradition," she said in
front of her small booth of leather shoes.
Authorities in Oaxaca have called for the “Oaxaca Slip-On” to be
withdrawn and demanded a public apology from Adidas, with officials
describing the design as “cultural appropriation" that may violate
Mexican law.
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A vendor sells sandals known as "huaraches" at a market in Oaxaca,
Mexico, Friday, Aug. 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Luis Alberto Cruz)
 In a public letter to Adidas
leadership, Oaxaca state Gov. Salomón Jara Cruz criticized the
company’s design, saying that “creative inspiration” is not a valid
justification for using cultural expressions that “provide identity
to communities.”
“Culture isn't sold, it's respected,” he added.
Adidas responded in a letter Friday afternoon, saying that the
company “deeply values the cultural wealth of Mexico’s Indigenous
people and recognizes the relevance” of the criticisms. It requested
to sit down with local officials and to discuss how it can “repair
the damage” to Indigenous populations.
The controversy follows years of efforts by Mexico's government and
artisans to push back on major global clothing brands who they say
copy traditional designs.
In 2021, the federal government asked manufacturers including Zara,
Anthropologie and Patowl to provide a public explanation for why
they copied clothing designs from Oaxaca's Indigenous communities to
sell in their stores.
Now, Mexican authorities say they're trying to work out stricter
regulations in an effort to protect artists. But Marina Núñez,
Mexico's undersecretary of cultural development, noted that they
also want to establish guidelines to not deprive artists of “the
opportunity to trade or collaborate with several of these companies
that have very broad commercial reach."
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