World Oceans Day will be celebrated on June 8, and adidas, along with longtime partner Parley for the Oceans – a company that reclaims plastic from the oceans – are returning to collaborate to continue raising awareness for all athletes around the world to turn their workouts into a concrete contribution to the environment by participating in the Run for the Oceans 2022.
For the first time, the challenge will be enriched with new disciplines that will make this Run for the Oceans the most inclusive edition ever.
Beginning today, May 23, and running through June 8, adidas is calling on athletes around the world to sign up for Run for the Oceans 2022 at adidas.com/runfortheoceans and then join forces to protect the oceans from plastic waste.
Research tells us that we have reached a point of no return, with the oceans set to succumb and contain more plastic than fish by 2050.
Katja Schreiber, Senior Vice President of Sustainability at adidas, said: “Time is not on our side in the race to eliminate plastic waste. That’s why we need to press even harder on the accelerator and act in the most targeted way possible. Since this is an industry-wide problem, we need equally broad solutions, because sustainability is a team effort. By calling on the sports community, we can inspire concrete action against plastic waste, ensuring participants have an experience where their actions and passion for the movement can truly help clean up the oceans. It is important that our brand commitments reflect the situation we are facing, which is why we have set an ambitious goal to replace virgin polyester with recycled polyester whenever possible in our products by 2024”.
All of us can make a real contribution, anywhere in the world, and this year’s Run for the Oceans aims precisely to expand the ranks of people ready to do their part as much as possible. For every 10 minutes of activity, from running, tennis, soccer, etc. – registered through the adidas Runtastic app or on Joyrun, Codoon, Yeudongquan or Strava, Parley will clean up beaches, remote islands and coastlines of waste equivalent to the weight of a plastic bottle before it reaches the oceans.
Cyrill Gutsch, CEO and founder of Parley commented: “Seven years ago adidas signed an agreement to support Parley as a founding partner. With this decision, the brand of the three stripes demonstrated the courage to take on an epic threat: the plastic crisis. Since then, millions of people have supported us, with concrete actions and by purchasing products made from Parley Ocean Plastic®, a material we invented in-house to fund our initiatives. These products have become the Symbol of Change, flags that spread a message of optimism. We can end this crisis and clean up our planet by inventing yes new materials, but most importantly by changing mindsets. Today, plastic continues to pose a threat to life itself. But billions of people are now aware of its danger. With Run for the Oceans this awareness is translated into action, and this is how our movement continues to grow and everyone can contribute. We must run with our feet, but also with our minds! Help us win this historic battle. Together we can overcome this impossible mission and end the destruction of our magical blue planet. Join the great Parley for the Oceans family!”.
