Adidas has reached an agreement with indigenous artisans from the Mexican state of Oaxaca over the misappropriation of the traditional Yalálag community huarache sandal design, which has been withdrawn from the market by the brand, the Mexican government announced today.
“There were meetings with the affected community, supported by the National Institute of Indigenous Peoples (Inpi) and the National Copyright Institute (Indautor), the two bodies responsible for this issue according to the law, and several agreements were signed with the brand,” explained Marina Núñez Bespalova, Deputy Secretary of Cultural Development at Mexico’s Ministry of Culture, during a press conference held by Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, as cited by the Spanish agency EFE.
Núñez added that the “compensation agreement cannot yet be made public, but it refers to certain infrastructures requested by the community itself.”
She also mentioned that after the agreement, “some kind of collaboration will be considered later” and that the footwear will not be sold because “these shoes were immediately withdrawn from the market” following the complaint.
VIDEO: 🇲🇽 Mexican huarache sandal makers upset by Adidas ‘plagiarism’
Mexico’s government is seeking compensation from sportswear giant Adidas, which is accused of cultural appropriation for bringing out sandals resembling a traditional design from the state of Oaxaca pic.twitter.com/OIxdzCtxFl
— AFP News Agency (@AFP) August 18, 2025
The ‘Oaxaca slip-on’ sandals, introduced on August 4, were a design created in collaboration with American Willy Chavarría.
Willy Chavarría lanza un “tenis-huarache” en colaboración con Adidas Originals: se llaman “Oaxaca Slip On” y están hechos en China. pic.twitter.com/WD6FfYIkuw
— MELODRAMA (@melodramamx) August 4, 2025
On August 8, the company requested, in a letter to the Government of Oaxaca, to establish a dialogue to repair the damages caused to the municipality of Villa Hidalgo Yalálag in the Sierra Norte de Oaxaca.
In response, the Secretary of Culture of Oaxaca, Flavio Sosa, announced that they would ask the company to acknowledge that the design “historically” belongs to Villa Hidalgo Yalálag, repair the damages, commit not to repeat them, and withdraw the product from the market.
Adidas issued a public apology on August 21 for the cultural misappropriation of the traditional Yalálag community huarache from the state of Oaxaca, which served as “inspiration” for the sports brand’s released model.
It reaffirmed its “commitment” to “work in collaboration with the Yalálag community” through a “dialogue based on respect, listening, and recognition of their cultural heritage.”
