In collaboration with Parley for the Oceans, an organization that brings together scientists, artists and citizens around projects to clean the oceans and preserve marine life, the three-band brand launched the Adidas Ultraboost Uncaged Parley.
This ecological shoe is made up of 95 percent recycled fishing nets and 5 percent polyester. The fishing nets were recovered and recycled off the Maldives by Parley for the Oceans: each pair of shoes contains a quantity of recycled plastic equivalent to 11 plastic bottles.
“Our priority is to develop new technologies that will allow us to use less polluting materials for our products. Climate change is a reality and we need to provide solutions in our industry,” says Herbert Hainer, chairman of the Adidas board. A commitment that was expressed in its sustainable development policy in 2016.
Adidas is not at its first test. The German company in 2012 came up with a model of t-shirt manufactured without water.
This shoe is the fruit of more than a year of hard work between the two organizations which hope that this partnership will create others of the same kind. “We cannot save the seabed on our own. Citizens act but it is important that large companies also take action. The example of Adidas will be able to create a click in the textile industry which will allow rethinking the business models which are mostly very polluting,” says Cyrill Gutsch, the founder of Parley for the Oceans.
Our priority is to develop new technologies that will allow us to use less polluting materials for our products. – Herbert Hainer
The initial concept was to make these shoes by 3D printing but Adidas eventually abandoned the idea for mass production issues. Some 7,000 pairs of this eco-friendly shoe have already been produced, and one million should be produced by end-2017, making it the first consumer product of its kind to be developed on such a scale. “Our ultimate goal is to use only recycled plastic for the majority of our products,” said Eric Liedtke, president, Global Brand, Adidas.
