Fashion to save the planet: Adidas x Parley

As human beings and consumers, we have an innate responsibility of stewardship for the planet that supports and gives us life. Without the oceans, the rainforests, worms and bees, the fragile ecosystem of Earth will collapse and life as we know it will end.

There are some truly frightening statistics we are up against: 2048 seems to be the overall accepted deadline for the collapse of all commercial fisheries, already by 2025 all the coral reef ecosystems in the world will be gone. Leading environmentalists see the end of most sea life happening within the next 6–16 years.

Parley is one organization that is actively working to help shape our response to the threat of ocean life extinction by raising awareness of the plight of our oceans and providing creative industrial solutions.

Parley and Adidas have teamed up for a very limited edition release of sneakers constructed from recycled ocean waste: nylon 6-gill nets salvaged off the coast of Africa from illegal fisheries and PET (plastic bottles), of which millions of tons litter the sea.

Featuring a classic Adidas running silhouette, the upper is constructed with woven nylon thread that repurposes 16.5 plastic bottles and 13 grams of nylon while the sole is made from PET.

The Parley x Adidas shoes were unveiled earlier this month at the United Nations. Due to the production intricacy, only fifty of these planet saving shoes will be made available – and not for sale. If you want a pair, you can enter to win by submitting a video pledging your commitment to keep the planet’s oceans clean on Instagram and tag Adidas and Parley in the caption with #ParleyAIR. The contest runs until July 31.

This will hopefully be the first product in a future mass commercial lineup that helps to reduce waste pollution and reorient the way we think about consumption.

From the sea to the street. Introducing the adidas x @Parleyxxx shoe, created from recycled ocean plastic waste.https://t.co/iVI7mT6YJX

— adidas (@adidas) June 7, 2016

The choices we make as consumers have a direct impact on the world around us: whether we choose to refill a water bottle or buy cartons of bottled water that end up as ocean waste, whether we buy products containing palm oil that contribute to the destruction of rain forests, whether we choose to support brands making a positive difference. Protecting the environment has never been so stylish.

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