Adidas announced Monday a long-term partnership with Parley for the Oceans to aid the organization’s communication, education and research efforts against ocean plastic pollution. The shoe company also intends to speed up plans to integrate materials made of ocean plastic waste into its product offering by 2016.
The partnership with Parley for the Oceans is part of the sporting giant’s open-source approach to innovation that calls for crowd-sourced ideas, including support from consumers at the retail level. As a first action, Adidas has also decided to phase out the use of plastic bags in its own retail stores.
“The conservation of the oceans is a cause that is close to my heart and those of many employees at the Adidas Group,” said Eric Liedtke, Adidas Group executive board member responsible for global brands. “By partnering with Parley for the Oceans we are contributing to a great environmental cause. We co-create fabrics made from Ocean Plastic waste which we will integrate into our product.”
Parley for the Oceans founder Cyrill Gutsch praised the partnership. “There is no other brand that carries the culture of collaboration in the DNA like Adidas,” he said. “Together, we will not only focus on creating the next generation of design concepts, technologies, materials and products.”