Turn ocean plastic into products
Companies like Adidas make over 400 million pairs of shoes every year, but constantly creating new materials isn't great for the environment. So some brands are turning to a different resource: ocean plastic.
Making fabric from recycled materials is up to 20% more expensive than using primary polyester fibres.
Benefits
- Gives a second-life to single-use plastic bottles
- Reduces the use of virgin materials in manufacturing
- Demonstrates that ocean plastic can be used in fashion and performance contexts
- Shows that there is a demand from consumers for ocean-plastic products
Challenges
- Once the plastic has been turned into a new product, it is very difficult to recycle for a third time
- Buying recycled plastic products is better than buying virgin plastic, but it does not necessarily impact our throwaway culture
- Lots of energy is needed to melt ocean plastics into pellets to then be spun into polyester yarn.
Making a difference
In 2019, Adidas made 11 million pairs of shoes with recycled ocean plastic in collaboration with Parley for the Oceans and as a result have prevented 2,810 tons of plastic from reaching the oceans.