In 2015 Adidas announced they would collaborate with Parley for the Oceans and start making their shoes from ocean plastic. They proved to be successful as they’ve announced that in 2017, they sold a million pairs of them.
Adidas x Parley
Adidas have announced that one of their newly-introduced line of shoes made from recovered ocean waste has sold over 1 million pairs. Each Ultraboost shoe uses an average of 11 plastic bottles per pair and incorporates recycled plastic into the shoe’s laces, heel webbing, heel lining, and sock liner covers using a yarn developed by Parley that turns the ocean plastic into a polymer that can be used to construct knitted footwear.
Adidas joined forces with Parley for the Oceans in April of 2015 and has since extended its line beyond just the three Ultraboost variants, with two new women’s colourways released in collaboration with Stella McCartney, as well as a range of swimwear made with the same upcycled plastic.
“At Parley for the Oceans, we want to establish the oceans as a fundamental part of the debate around climate change. Our objective is to boost public awareness and to inspire new collaborations that can contribute to protect and preserve the oceans. We are extremely proud that adidas is joining us in this mission and is putting its creative force behind this partnership to show that it is possible to turn ocean plastic into something cool.” – Cyrill Gutsch, founder of Parley for the Oceans
The shoes are nearly indistinguishable from a normal pair of Adidas shoes, but the hidden benefits of how they’re made could have lasting implications for the future of footwear – and our environment.
