adidas and Parley Rework Classic Sneakers With Recycled Materials in Honor of Earth Day

Buying new clothes and shoes has posed a persistent problem for environmentally-conscious consumers. How can you buy new stuff you love but that doesn’t support manufacturing that hurts the planet? There is no perfect answer, of course, but one of the best answers we have right now is shopping brands, like global sportswear label adidas, that put sustainable practices at the forefront of their production. And this week, adidas and its partner Parley for the Oceans are dropping a host of smartly made sneakers in honor of Earth Day.

The collection adds innovative, sustainably-minded fabrics to popular Three Stripes silhouettes, including the Nizza Hi, Nizza Lo, Superstar, Stan Smith, ZX 8000, Forum Mid, Forum Low, NMD_R1 and two women’s exclusives, the Forum Bold and Nizza Platform. The fabric is made with 50% Parley Ocean Plastic constructed from plastic waste found on beaches and marine communities and 50% yarn crafted from recycled polyester. Notably, the Nizza Parley Hi and Nizza Parley Lo are also composed of wrapped webbing, which is assembled layer by layer to minimize waste in the production process.

To up the ante, each silhouette is offered in a black and white colorway that’s easy to style. The collection begins rolling out today, with some styles releasing later in the month, like the Nizza Hi Parley on April 27.

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adidas has been working hard over the past few years to do better for the environment, including launching its End Plastic Waste campaign and signature Primeblue material — a high-performance fabric utilizing Parley Ocean Plastic — in 2020 as part of its continued partnership with Parley for the Oceans. The Three Stripes and Parley have come out with a range of sustainably-sourced shoes, too, like the adidas x Parley Ultraboost DNA made with 25% recycled plastic fishing nets from U.K. fishing quays. In addition to repurposing plastic waste, adidas also utilizes organic cotton and sustainable dye practices. What’s more, the brand has dropped sneakers that are designed to be returned and remade at the end of their lifecycle, and in partnership with Allbirds, has created the world’s lowest carbon footprint running shoes to date.

So, for people who are passionate about healing the earth but still want to experience brand-new sneakers, this collection is perfect. Shop some key styles from the line, below, and head to adidas.com to see all the exciting drops.