My first run with a shoe made out of 11 PET bottles

And then, in the year 2018, Adidas created a global movement with Run for the Oceans, uniting nearly one million runners from around the world and raising $1 million for long-term partner Parley for the Oceans. The partnership saw five million pairs of shoes created using recycled ocean plastic in 2018 alone.

In fact, it is interesting to note that Parley Ocean Plastic is a material created from upcycled plastic waste that is intercepted on beaches and in coastal communities before it reaches the oceans. Parley for the Oceans works with its partners to collect, sort and transport the recovered raw material which is mainly PET bottles to an Adidas supplier to produces yarn, which is legally trademarked and then used to create the knitted upper materials of this shoe. In fact, a pair of shoes is made from 11 PET bottles!

In 2019 Parley range will see the company produce a landmark 11 million pairs of shoes using this upcycled marine plastic waste.

So what was it to run like in this one of the targeted 11 million pairs?

As I mentioned, I didn’t feel much difference between a regularly produced shoe and this one. The Alphabounce+ Parley is designed in a way to give good support and comfort.

And it actually made me feel good that the mesh upper of the Adidas Alphabounce Parley was made using recycled plastic.

In an email response, Matthias Amm, Senior Product Director, Global Brands – BU Running, Adidas mentioned how the biggest challenge was to create the yarns/materials out of recycled plastic which can perform at the same level as virgin plastic materials. In turn, the supply chain had to be adjusted to the process of using these recycled plastic yarns/materials.

I took the shoe out on a short 4 km recovery run. And it looked and felt nice on my feet.

From a design point of view and for aesthetics I would give this one full marks. We runners love eye-catching shoes a lot, and this one is eye-catching or what!  You can definitely easily style this with your sportswear, but styling it with a jeans-tee look or a skirt wouldn’t be a problem at all. Also, the articulate tongue construction and welded lacing system do add on to its style appeal.

The shoes feel comfortable on the feet for a short run or a walk. It has a 10 mm heel-to-toe drop. But, I must confess being a lover of lightweight shoes, I thought it was a little bulky.

It does look like a lifestyle sneaker, but this shoe in fact can be used as performance footwear for your CrossFit or gym sessions as well.

I really like the fact that the cushioning beneath your feet is very responsive.

And finally, from price point of view as well, I thought this pair was on the affordable side. In an era where sneaker prices are sky-rocketing, this one comes at a price-tag of Rs. 8,999 for women and Rs 9,999 for men and can be purchased on several ecommerce portals, a few of Adidas’s stores and on their website as well.