Adidas has partnered with Parley to create solutions for ocean plastic waste products. With the partnership, the German sports brand introduces a pair of 3D-printed shoes made up of plastic strands that came from the sea.
German multinational corporation Adidas AG has come up with a 3D-printed shoe using waste products coming from Earth's oceans. The latest shoe from the company started development last June when Adidas made a partnership with an organization devoted to address hazards towards Earth's seas known as Parley for the Oceans.
The latest shoe innovation combines two explored concepts: ocean plastic waste to create the shoe and 3D-printing the footwear. The shoe is made up of filaments and yarns recycled and reclaimed from plastic materials coming from the ocean. The concept shoe was the company's first attempt to show that recycled materials can be used for a shoe's function and form.
However, Adidas is moving it up to then next level. The company is combining recycled ocean plastic for the shoe's upper part and a 3D-printed midsole for the shoe that is made up of recycled gillnets and polyester.
Adidas Executive Board member Eric Liedtke stated at the Paris Climate Change Summit that the industry can no longer afford to wait for directions coming from the world leaders. Hand in hand with Parley, Adidas has already started to take action to create new sustainable materials and developments for athletes and consumers alike.
Ocean waste products as a global-scale problem, Liedtke added that Adidas wants to bring everyone from the industry to create sustainable resolutions for huge global issues. In addition, the company has taken a number of steps of addressing non-biodegradable pollution. The company will be phasing out the use of plastic bags in their global retail stores before 2017. The company will also stop using plastic microbeads for their body care products by the end of this year. At the moment, the company no longer uses water in plastic bottles during company meetings.
The pair of 3D-printed shoes is still just a concept and footwear like these are not available anywhere as of the moment. But with companies like Adidas and organizations like Parley, issues with water pollution may be a thing in the past and 3D footwear may be a thing in the future.
