adidas and Parley celebrate World Oceans Day by releasing iconic shoe

To celebrate World Oceans Day, adidas and Parley for the Oceans have announced the release of a limited number of the iconic running shoe showcased at last year’s Parley Talks ‘Oceans. Climate. Life.’ hosted by the President of the General Assembly at the United Nations in New York. 

People around the world are being given until the end of July 2016 to enter a creative Instagram contest to earn one of the 50 available pairs.

Zinedine Zidane who is supporting the movement said:

“This is an inspiring partnership between adidas and Parley.  What adidas and Parley is doing, by turning waste into a running shoe, shows that even waste that is harming the planet can be used to create something special.”

The shoe upper is made from Parley Ocean Plastic^®, which is collected in coastal areas in the Maldives, as well as illegal deep-sea gillnets retrieved by Parley for the Oceans’ partner organisation Sea Shepherd. The shoe has been created with adidas’ most innovative production method: adidas Tailored Fibre Technology, a revolutionary manufacturing technique that enables unique footwear designs to be tailored to the individual needs of any athlete.

As of June 8, World Oceans Day, people will be able to earn a pair by taking part in an Instagram contest. People will be asked to create a video and show how they pledge to avoid single use plastic items and support Parley’s Ocean Plastic Program. The competition will close on July 31, 2016. The full rules of the game as well as the countries where the competition will be run will be disclosed on adidas and Parley’s social channels.

“This adidas x Parley running shoe is already iconic,” said Eric Liedtke, adidas Group Executive Board member responsible for Global Brands. “It’s a shoe for game changers. We can’t wait to hear the stories of those who stand up, suggest creative solutions, take action and want to join us on our journey to clean up the oceans.”

With the goal of developing and supporting new technologies to up-cycle ocean plastic debris, over the last year adidas and Parley for the Oceans have worked on turning ocean plastic into technical yarn fibres that can be used for performance products. This shoe is the first in a series of products that adidas is now able to produce using Parley Ocean Plastic^®.

“So much work has happened behind the scenes since we launched our partnership with adidas. We are creating new standards, new materials and technologies that are so different to those the sporting goods industry is used to”, says Cyrill Gutsch, Founder of Parley for the Oceans. "It is an ongoing challenge, but we achieved the first step. Now we can replace new plastic with recycled marine plastic debris: Parley Ocean Plastic®. We can create footwear and apparel products with it and we are ready to scale it up”.

In the second half of 2016, one of adidas’ top footwear franchises will integrate Parley Ocean Plastic^® – the first commercial footwear product drop by adidas and Parley for the Oceans.