Adidas has found a way to fix the ocean trash problem by turning plastic found at the bottom of the sea into wearable footwear. Now the company is boasting that its sold more than a million pair of plastic shoes.
The popular footwear company is making millions of athletic sneakers out of ocean plastic, in partnership with Parley. According to Business Insider, the shoes use a yarn that turns ocean plastic into a polymer that can used to construct knitted footwear. Ocean plastic is a persistent problem and the company revealed in March its recycling initiative with Parley.
The shoes are pretty fashionable too and the differences compared to the regular line of Adidas footwear aren’t that distinguishable.
Adidas started the collected two years ago with a limited run and then in 2017 released a full collection.
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On average, each pair of shoes uses 11 plastic bottles and the laces, lining, and the heels use plastic too.
The sales show a trend that people are looking for meaningful ways to help the environment with buying sustainable footwear.
Angela Rye slams Adidas over ‘Predator’ Ad
Adidas may be singing praises over the sales of their new eco-friendly sneakers but let us not forget when Angela Rye took to Instagram to drag Adidas over what she believed to be a racially insensitive ad. In particular, she took issue with the poster use of the word “predator” below an image of Black soccer player.
The ad, which features French soccer player Paul Pogba, is supposed to promote a new line of Adidas Predator cleats. However, the shoes are not displayed anywhere in the ad.
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‘This is devastating’
Rye described the ad as “devastating” and pointed out the racial implications of the use of the word ‘predator.’
“[A] lot of you are defending this ad by saying the soccer player pictured wears this line of cleats. Where’s the shoe? Do you understand that PREDATOR has a negative connotation particularly when we are talking about the perception of Black people in the world? This is irresponsible and NOT well thought out,” the activist and political analyst wrote.
Reactions to Rye’s call out were mixed. While many agreed that the ad was racist, or inappropriate at best, some fans of the brand disagreed.
I enjoy you @angelarye but I think you are reaching in the wrong direction with this… please research the Adidas Predators line of Soccer cleats. Kobe Bryant was named the Black Mamba but there wasn’t a line of sneaked named “The Nike Mambas” before he was given that name!” one user wrote in the comments. “Soccer or Futbol never isolated its product lines based on “nicknames” given to players. Love you my Sista, but please… Don’t assume. It’s best to research 1st before shooting your own kind…”
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