Adidas and Parley Turn Ocean Trash Into Running Shoes

Stitched with thread produced from discarded fishing nets, Adidas’ newest shoes are a collaboration with the ocean activist collective Parley for the Oceans. The idea was floated the previous year, but as an idealistic prototype rather than something anyone could wear.

Now fifty pairs exist, and the significance is less in the shoe than in the supply chain: an industrial partner agreeing to treat ocean plastic as a raw material rather than a cause. Whether it scales is the only question that matters.

More: Parley for the Oceans · Adidas.