In 2018, Adidas created a global movement with Run for the Oceans, uniting nearly one million runners from around the world to help spread awareness and transform ocean plastic pollution into high-performance sportswear. It raised $1 million to educate the youth on the problem of marine plastic pollution with Parley for the Oceans schools.
The money raised helped educate and empower 100,000 youth and their families who are living in coastal areas affected by plastic pollution. The partnership saw five million pairs of shoes created using recycled ocean plastic paving way for a higher goal this year.
Continuing the journey of converting THREAT INTO THREAD and giving wings to an aspirational aim of producing a landmark 11 million pairs of shoes from up-cycled marine plastic waste.
In 2019 the Run For The Oceans movement scaled exponentially. The campaign this year united large number of runners across several locations in India with an overall participation of 87,490 runners clocking 175061 kms and clearing over 238 tonnes of plastic waste. The clean-up was done on the beaches, plogging efforts in Delhi and boats running in mangroves. The run this year helped Adidas raise USD 1.5 Million which will be given to Parley Ocean School.
Inspiring the larger universe to join the movement, Adidas brought together its community of Adidas Runners, brand ambassadors, influencers, employees, store partners, store staff, and even consumers to make a difference and contribute by participating in on-ground events and digital runs.
The global impact of the movement has seen more than 2.2 million participants lace up for the oceans and running more than 12.5 million kms. The brand did not just double the participation number from 924k in 2018 to 2.2 million this year, but also garnered exceedingly remarkable numbers and covered 12.4 million kms to 12.5 million km, within only 8 days of running as compared to 31 days last year.
The brand is ambitiously working towards its 2024 goal of eliminating the use of virgin polyester from all its products and the entire supply chain.
| 2018 | 2019 |
| 7.5 k runners running for the cause | 87,490 runners running for the cause |
| 122k kms distance covered | 175060.81 kms distance covered |
| Clearing over 150 tonnes of plastic | Clearing over 238 tonnes of plastic |
