February 28, 2021
We have always had an interest in fashion (especially footwear), we place a large amount of importance on immersing ourselves in every possible sector of the creative industry, as you never know where you might get some inspiration from.
Around 5 years ago we saw an article about a collaboration between Adidas and Parley, in which they proposed cleaning up the oceans and using this plastic waste as a material resource (polyester) to create their footwear with. Needless to say the combination of aesthetic footwear with an environmental benefit peaked our interest.
At this point in time there wasn’t as much awareness about the massive environmental impact that the fashion industry had on the environment and this collaboration was addressing both the sourcing of material and cleaning up the ocean.
Parley has collaborated with a range of artists and companies to raise awareness and inspire a conscious effort to clean our oceans and understand the importance of the ocean to our eco system.
“Parley is the space where creators, thinkers and leaders come together to raise awareness for the beauty and fragility of our oceans and collaborate on projects that can end their destruction”
https://www.parley.tv/updates/adidasxparley
Since 1949 Adidas has been consistently one of the most important sportswear manufacturers across the globe. They have been at the forefront of the footwear and apparel sector for over 70 years, blending sports with fashion and merging hip-hop artists with athletes.
It began with creating a shoe using plastic recovered from the ocean and this was unsurprisingly met with great excitement throughout the industry and the ball started turning from there.
5 years on and the Parley collaboration has been intertwined into their apparel lines with a range of sportswear being created from plastic waste recovered from the oceans. Adidas have incorporated Parley recycled plastic into attire for FC Bayern Munich, Miami Dolphins, New Zealand All Blacks and many more!
Over 16 million shoes later Adidas have committed to end plastic waste, and by 2024 they aim to have all of their footwear and clothing made with 100% recycled polyester. Eliminating virgin polyester from their brand.
They have started creating shoes that are designed to be remade/recycled, so when a shoe meets its end of life they can simply be shredded up and turned back into the polyester materials they use to create both their shoes and apparel.
When such a global giant of an industry (that is known to have a huge environmental impact on the planet), embarks on an environmentally conscious mission to reduce their environmental footprint, and combine that with cleaning our oceans/planet it really does excite us! We can’t wait to watch how the next few years of this collaboration affect Adidas as a global brand.
https://www.parley.tv/updates/adidasxparley
Thanks for reading.
Barney
