Germany's Adidas partners with Parley for the Oceans for 5th time

For the first time, new activities have been introduced to the challenge, making this the most inclusive Run for the Oceans yet. People from all parts of the global sporting community are invited to hit the streets, the tennis court and the football field, and unite to help protect the oceans from plastic waste.

To be launched between May 23–June 8, the event returns with the ambition of mobilising a generation to help end plastic waste. Research shows that the world is at a tipping point, with it predicted that oceans will contain more plastic than fish by 2050.

For every 10 minutes of running from select activities, such as running, tennis or football, recorded by participants via the Adidas Runtastic app, Joyrun, Codoon, Yeudongquan or Strava, Parley will clean up the equivalent weight of one plastic bottle from beaches, remote islands, and coastlines before it reaches the ocean (up to a maximum of 250,000kg).

Katja Schreiber, svp sustainability at Adidas said, “Time is against us in the race to help end plastic waste, so we’re pushing harder and with more focus than ever before. Just like how this is an industry-wide problem, it requires industry-wide solutions, because sustainability is a team sport. It’s important that our own brand commitments reflect the situation with which we are faced and that’s why we’ve committed to our goal of replacing virgin polyester with recycled polyester in?our?products by 2024?wherever possible.”

From raw material interception, processing, packaging, all the way to the end of product life, Adidas calculate and communicate its carbon footprint, conforming to an internationally recognised standard: ISO 14067. 

Cyrill Gutsch, ceo and founder of Parley said, “Today, plastic is still threatening life. But billions of people now know how harmful it is. Run for the oceans is the moment where we turn awareness into action, where we grow our movement even bigger. Where everyone can take a stand. Run with your feet, run your mind! Help us to end this epic battle. Together we can win this impossible mission and end the destruction of our magical blue planet!”

Since 2017, Adidas and Parley has united over 8.2 million runners worldwide, running a combined total of more than 81.7 million km. Since the beginning of the partnership in 2015, Adidas has made more than 50 million pairs of shoes with Parley ocean plastic and close to 18 million pairs in 2021 alone - this includes plastic waste intercepted from beaches and coastal communities, preventing it from polluting the oceans.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (HO)