I rant a lot about sustainable fashion saving the planet, and for good reason! The industry is king at convincing, and smart enough to know we really are living in a ticking time-bomb when it comes to environment change. If you don’t have a pic of Adidas’s new shoe in your shrine, it’s time you got on their mailing list to buy these in November.

(http://www.stores-locator.com/news/adidas-and-parley-a-partnership-for-sustainable-projects.html)

Ocean Plastic

Probably the greatest threat to our longevity as a species is our overproduction; we simply no don’t need everything we have, and yet there’s so much available that we find ourselves buying more. Throwing away the old to make space for the new.

We’re also addicted to convenience, and very narrow in our ability for concern about things we don’t directly witness. So much of what we throw away winds up in the oceans, and ocean plastic is today a major cause for concern!

(http://www.alertdiver.com/oceans_of_plastic)

Adidas and Parley

Okay rant over, ocean plastic is a fucking disaster, lets move on from this circle jerk and look at the most beautiful shoe I’ve ever laid eyes on!

(https://www.dezeen.com/2015/07/08/adidas-parley-sports-shoe-alexander-taylor-recycled-ocean-plastic/)

This running shoe, launching in November, is a collaborative effort between Adidas and Parley for the Oceans. This company has numerous strategies in place to save our oceans, one of which is to turn ocean plastic into usable materials. These shoes will retail from November this year (2017) and I think are part of an important growing trend in fashion towards sustainability. Not just sustainability, but actually reversing the negative impacts we’ve had on the environment so far.

In addition to being extremely fashionable and functional, this project showcases fashion’s capacity to turn our environmental disasters around. While all the Government Departments of Environmental Affairs from all over the world debate exactly who’s fault this all is. And NGOs think up strategies to convince people to recycle. There’s nothing more appealing to the modern consumer than a beautiful shoe. And suddenly the shoppers are trampling each other to pay for this fashion brand to clean the oceans ;)

(http://www.footyheadlines.com/2016/11/adidas-parley-ultra-boost.html)

This is not a new thing for Adidas at all! As a brand they’ve really taken sustainability, ethical practice and conscious consumerism by the horns. Not only do they have very forward thinking labour practices, sourcing strategies and marketing campaigns (you can read a review of that here). But most of their products include a portion of recycled material, and with some already using Parley’s ocean plastic.

Like these delicious sandals available on Amazon!!

Adidas’s sustainability endeavors are quite comprehensive, with their core values neatly set out below.

(http://www.adidas-group.com/en/sustainability/managing-sustainability/general-approach/)

You can read more about their approach to sustainable fashion here, and more about these fantastic shoes here.

(http://www.highsnobiety.com/2015/07/05/adidas-parley-for-the-oceans-footwear-concept/)

Be Sustainable NOW!

There are actually a BUNCH of shoes made out of recycled material readily available online;

Like these Landfill Dzine flip flops made of upcycled irrigation piping (available here).

Or these Adidas Climacool boat-lace running shoes (available here).

And these uber fashionable 100% upcycled plastic rope sandals that I reviewed here (available here)

In short, as it did after our expulsion from Eden, fashion will save us from ourselves. With more big brands getting on the sustainability wagon, it’s up to us the consumers to support those companies that are making a positive difference.

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