# What is adidas x Parley?
The duo’s partnership intercepts plastic before it enters our oceans, turning discarded plastic into high-performance sportswear. Targeting their bigger joint goal, the partners are on track to create 20million (!!) pairs of sneakers this year alone – each made from upcycled plastic waste intercepted from beaches and coastal communities before reaching the ocean.
The longstanding collaboration between adidas x parley has paved the way for many industry leaders; inspiring the adidas customer to join in and take action against climate change.
# Plastic In The Ocean
Over one truck full of plastic is dumped in our oceans every minute. Plastic finishing lines, bottles, carrier bags and much more collect in huge swirling masses in the ocean, toxifying the ocean water and killing sea life.
With 350 million tons of virgin plastic produced every year, new research has revealed that plastics have now made their way into every part of earth’s ecosystems.
Key Facts:
- 99% of the biosphere is housed in the oceans.
- Every second breath we take is generated by the oceans.
- More than seven-tenths of Earth’s surface is blue.
- We’ve explored less than 5% of the oceans.
- By 2050, there may be more plastic than fish in our oceans by weight.
- 12 people have walked on the moon. Only 3 have been to the deepest part of the ocean.
- 90% of big fish species have disappeared since 1950.
- The largest living structure on Earth is found in the oceans: The Great Barrier Reef.
- Plastic is found in 90% of seabirds and more than half the world’s sea turtles.
# How Does the adidas x Parley collaboration work?
The world’s most influential sportswear brand has come up with an ambitious and ingenious idea for re-using this huge mass of plastic. What if the brand took the trash, and made a sports shoe out of it? And then made a million more, using 11 million plastic bottles pulled straight out of the ocean to do so.
Thanks to their collaboration with Parley, adidas is today using one of the best innovations in footwear in recent memory to be able to create industry-leading footwear from recycled plastic bottles.
