Adidas Teams up with Parley: Tech Fabric Made from Plastic Retrieved from the Ocean

by Shannon · Published February 5, 2017 , 12:13 pm · Updated July 5, 2023 , 7:34 am

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You may be asking, what is Parley? Parley is short for Parley for the Oceans, an organization that was formed in 2013 to increase awareness and to formulate solutions to protect our oceans. Parley operates with 3 main tenants in mind with the acronym AIR:

AVOID plastic whenever possible
INTERCEPT plastic waste
REDESIGN the plastic economy

Adidas partnered with Parley in 2015 and has developed fabric that is made from recycled plastic bottles found in the ocean. In November of 2016, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich football clubs each played soccer matches outfitted in jerseys made with Parley fabric to help raise awareness about the pollution, destruction, and need for a solution to help protect our oceans. Adidas is now incorporating the Parley fabric into shoes as well, with the goal of creating 1 million pairs of shoes by the end of 2017 that feature Parley plastic. Adidas has also shown prototype products that include recycled fish netting into stitching on an upper of a shoe.

: Adidas Climalite with Parley Fabric

At Outdoor Retailer, I received a long-sleeve Adidas Tech shirt that features Parley. I call this shirt, the “Ice, Snow, Frost, and Water” Long sleeve. The t-shirt fits, feels, and performs like a regular tech shirt that features the Adidas Climalite fabric. One major difference is that it is made from recycled plastic from the ocean. Prior to its’ first wash it had a different kind of smell that I couldn’t quite put my finger on, but that has subsided after a few trips through the wash.

The “Ice, Snow, Frost, and Water” long sleeve has excellent breathability and dries quickly. It also doesn’t hang on to the smells like other tech fabrics. It would be neat to see Parley and Polygiene together in a product: a recycled garment with a silver salt treatment that has natural anti-microbial properties that you can wear knowing that additional waste was not created and then you can wear the garment more frequently without having to wash it, therefore reducing water consumption and waste productions. A win-win in my book. I am looking forward to seeing more garments with Parley and other recycled fabrics.