Adidas makes shoe out of plastic waste recycled from oceans

Adidas has in collaboration with Parley for the Oceans created the world's first shoe made from recycled ocean waste and deep-sea gillnets.

A prototype of the shoe made from the yarn and filaments of ocean waste was showcased at the Parley Talks titled "Oceans. Climate. Life" hosted by the United Nations in New York during a high-level event on climate change.

The gillnets were retrieved by Parley partner Sea Shepherd which spent 110 days tracking an illegal poaching vessel.

The German sportswear brand's Executive Board member Eric Liedtke said: "We are incredibly excited to join Parley for the Oceans as they bring the cause of the oceans to the attention of the United Nations. Adidas has long been a leader in sustainability, but this partnership allows us to tap into new areas and create innovative materials and products for our athletes. We invite everyone to join us on this journey to clean up the oceans."

Parley for the Oceans is an organisation formed in 2013 dedicated to projects that protect and conserve the Earth's oceans.

According to Unesco, in 2006, there were 46,000 pieces of floating plastic for every square mile of ocean.

Worse still, around four billion minute fibres could be littering each square kilometre of some of the world's deep seas with potential impact on marine life, said a study.

Adidas also announced that it would be phasing out the use of plastic bags in all Adidas retail stores.