Adidas and Parley Launch $1.5 Million Run for the Oceans Initiative

Adidas Running once again partners with Parley to raise $1.5 million on their global initiative called Run for the Oceans. The fund raising event is in lieu with the upcoming World Oceans Day on June 8, 2019.

Runners of all fitness levels are invited to join the Run for the Oceans virtual run on June 8 to 16. To participate, simply download the Runtastic (Joyrun) app and look for the Run for the Oceans challenge and add it to your runs. For every kilometer ran, adidas will donate $1 to the Parley Ocean School Program with a $1.5 million donation cap.

Last year adidas and Parley with the help of almost a million runners around the world were able to gather $1 million. The funds were used in different efforts to educate future generations about the dangers of marine plastic pollution.

Parley and adidas has also intercepted huge amount of plastics from coastal communities and marine environments. Since 2015, they have turned Ocean Plastic^® into sportswear. In time for the 2018 celebration of World Oceans Day, adidas also released the upcycled Alphabounce+ Parley footwear.

The Alphabounce + Parley product line is designed for comfort in mind with optimized fit, wide lacing system and maximum support. The recycled line of sportswear also features the Parley 4KRFT Shorts for men and Parley Believe This Tight for women. Both products are made of at least 75-percent upcycled plastic waste.

“The marine plastic crisis we’re facing has become critically urgent. We effect it daily through the plastics we use and throw away. Every minute, the equivalent of a dump truck of plastic waste enters our oceans and by 2050, this could mean there may be more plastic than fish in the world’s oceans. We know the stats and we’re aware of the issue. Now we need action. adidas x Parley has helped spread awareness of the crisis facing our oceans but also contributed to finding solutions,” said Alberto Uncini Manganelli, General Manager adidas Running.

Back in 2016, we created the first performance products with recycled ocean plastics and went on to produce six million pairs of adidas x Parley shoes by 2018, with a goal of making 11 million units this year, intercepting vast amounts of plastic from entering our oceans. We’ve come a long way and won’t stop there. As a business we have committed ourselves to use only 100% recycled polyester by 2024. We are challenging our business and those around us to think about the decisions they make and how they impact the future, of not just our industry but our planet,” Uncini added.

The partnership also has helped empower and educate more than 100,000 youth and their families who live in coastal areas to take positive actions for the environment. Adidas and Parley plans to launch the Parley Youth Activism program this year.

The global platform aims at encouraging more people to engage in long term behavioral change towards the good of the environment. Parley Youth activism will also host a digital curriculum which will equip school children the knowledge, skills and tools they need to protect the oceans. It will also serve as a digital space for mentoring, promoting events and idea sharing centered on nature.

“Run for the Oceans is an opportunity to celebrate the oceans, a place where runners unite to dedicate their time and energy and generate investment towards saving our oceans – this year, for our new activist platform, a global stage for the next generation of creators, leaders and thinkers. As the voice of our future, our youth make the most convincing teachers and best ambassadors, educating parents, industry leaders and politicians, and using media in the most native way. Youth are our biggest hope, since they are driven by the strongest of all motivations: their own survival. We are more than grateful for the generous support of our founding partner adidas. It allows us to grow the movement into a superstorm of change,” Cyrill Gutsch, Founder and CEO, Parley for the Oceans.

For more information and to sign up, visit adidas.com/runfortheoceans.