Adidas is literally turning garbage into money: Here's how
With over 1 million shoes' pairs made from ocean plastic and sold in 2017, Adidas is literally turning garbage into gold. The sportswear giant has taken decisive steps to combat pollution caused by plastic, and is fighting the good fight by taking waste plastic and fashioning them into shoes. The company said that it sees "responsible and sustainable" production as an "obligation". Here's more.
Adidas is also off to a strong start in 2018
Apart from its contribution to the fight against pollution, Adidas is undoubtedly doing pretty well business-wise. Backed by growth in China and the US, the German giant recorded a 10% increase in revenue in the first quarter of FY2018.
From 7,000 shoes to 1 million within a year
In 2015, Adidas first collaborated with conservation group Parley for the Oceans to produce prototype shoes of which 95% was made from ocean plastic harvested off the coast of West Africa. In 2016, Adidas produced 7,000 pairs of such shoes. Dubbed the Ultraboost line of shoes, Adidas expanded the line unbelievably fast to reach the 1-million-pairs-sold benchmark by 2017.
Fighting ocean pollution one shoe at a time
Interestingly, for making one pair of Adidas Ultraboost shoes, around 11 plastic bottles are reused. Adidas is really doing its bit to make this world a better place to live in.
Other companies trying to combat ocean waste
However, Adidas isn't the only company fighting ocean waste. Sea2See Eyewear collects ocean trash from fishing communities in Spain to create premium eyewear in a bid to promote consumer awareness and sustainability in the industry. Similarly, skateboard company Bureo uses discarded fishnets to make skateboards. Bionic Yarn too reuses ocean plastic to create high-grade textiles and polymers for luggage, clothes etc.
