German apparel giant Adidas has created a prototype for a sustainable new shoe made almost entirely from recycled garbage pulled from the ocean, the company announced on Monday. The upper shoe is made entirely of yarns and filaments reclaimed from illegal deep-sea gillnets and other ocean waste, while the base is made from sustainable cushioning material. To call ocean pollution a big problem is an understatement. According to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, in 2006, there were 46,000 pieces of floating plastic for every square mile of ocean. Plastic debris is responsible for the deaths of over a million seabirds and 100,000 marine mammals every year. To help raise awareness for these issues, German sportswear brand Adidas has joined forces with Parley for the Oceans, an organization formed in 2013 dedicated to undertaking projects to protect and conserve the Earth’s oceans.
The new kicks are the first to come out of Adidas’ recent partnership with Parley for the Oceans, an organization that aims to end pollution of the world’s 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,” Parley founder Cyrill Gutsch said. Our objective is to boost public awareness and to inspire new collaborations that can contribute to protect and preserve the oceans,” Gutsch said in a statement.
Gathering the garbage to assemble the shoe was no easy feat. The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, which collaborated on the project, retrieved the trash over the course of a 110-day expedition to track an illegal poaching vessel off the coast of West Africa. The green fishing nets collected during that voyage can be seen in the design of the upper shoe. A spokeswoman for Adidas told The Huffington Post the shoe is not for sale, and she was unsure whether it would be in the near future. “This is not a plan, this is an action,” she said. “We did this to show what we are capable of doing when we all put our heads together.” Still, she confirmed that the company will begin incorporating recycled plastic into its shoes by early next year. So, until then, you’ll have to get by without wearing trash on your feet..
“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. “In April, when it announced its partnership with Parley for the Oceans, Adidas also announced that it would be phasing out the use of plastic bags in all Adidas retail stores. “We are incredibly excited to join Parley for the Oceans as they bring the cause of the oceans to the attention of the United Nations,” said Liedtke. “Adidas has long been a leader in sustainability, but this partnership allows us to tap into new areas and create innovative materials and products for our athletes. We invite everyone to join us on this journey to clean up the oceans.”
The concept shoe, which does not have a name, may not hit the shelves in its current form, but something very much like it is planned. It’s an illustrative concept for a line of consumer-ready products made from ocean plastics that Adidas and Parley for the Oceans will be releasing later this year.
For more information please visit: www.adidas.com
