Due to its demand and practical usage, shoes are one form of footwear which will never stop being manufactured.
In an effort to reduce the company’s overall environmental impact, Adidas has announced a new brand of shoes made out of ocean trash.
After teaming up with the conservationist organization “Parley for the Oceans,” the company is now aiming to incorporate deep-sea fishing nets into the new eco-friendly Adidas line.
In December 2014, Parley for the Oceans partner Sea Shepherd Conservation Society removed more than 47 miles of illegal gillnets from the southern Atlantic Ocean while tracking an illegal poaching vessel.
In six days, designers were able to transform these nets into a market-ready piece of footwear, according to the Weather Network.
Adidas showcased a prototype for the product at the United Nations in New York City during a press briefing on June 29.
Adidas Group Executive Board Member for Global Brands Eric Liedtke said in a statement last week that the company is prepared to release consumer-ready ocean plastic footwear later this year.
“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. 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,” he said.
Although still in its prototype stage, a spokeswoman for Adidas assured The Huffington Post, “This is not a plan, this is an action. We did this to show what we are capable of doing when we all put our heads together.”
Parley for the Oceans Founder Cyrill Gutsch called Adidas a pioneer in effective business collaboration.
“There is no other brand that carries the culture of collaboration in the DNA like Adidas,” she said. “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.”