I recently had a conversation with a friend about recycling and how vital it is to the Earth that we do so. He didn’t really understand why it was so imperative and even told me, “I don’t believe in that.” Of course, we all hear about recycling constantly from Public Service Announcements and so-called yuppies that drive their Priuses to work and stand outside of schools with their clipboards making people late for class, “Can I talk to you for a moment about how you can save the whales?” But have you physically seen any of the damage being done?
What Happens When We Don’t Recycle?
Several beaches around the North Pacific Ocean become littered with marine debris. These patches of beaches are known as the Great Pacific Garbage Patch and span from the west coast of North America all the way to Japan. According to recent findings, National Geographic tells us that 70% of the trash collected in the ocean sinks to the bottom floor.
We also have an overabundance of landfills. Various landfills turn out to be buried over and, after a certain amount of time, become the new home to parks and golf courses, or other recreation areas. Isn’t that a lovely image in your head, taking your kids to the park that was once a landfill full of many different kinds of waste? However, there is some good that might come from newer landfills. Decomposing trash specifically creates Methane gas, which some landfills will collect and convert to an alternate energy source.
The New Adidas Shoe Concept
The company is attempting to aid in the environmental fight against excess trash with a new Adidas shoe concept, made almost entirely out of ocean debris collected by The Sea Shepard Conservation Society. Even the net used to gather the trash was incorporated into the design. They announced Monday that they had created the initial prototype, an idea that comes from a new partnership between Adidas and Parley for the Oceans. Parley is an environmental organization that is attempting to stop pollution of the oceans, and will likely gain extra attention after this partnership. This specific shoe may or may not ever come to fruition, but the company is said to begin incorporating more recycled plastic into its shoe lines by early 2016. The goal was to show people what great accomplishments we are capable of when we put effort into coming up with an action plan to find a solution to the problem.
As you’ve seen from my previous blogs, I deeply care about the way we treat our earth and I am passionate about informing people, specifically due to the fact that I myself was uninformed for quite a while. I think it’s incredible that a giant corporate company like Adidas is not only showing support for this cause, but also setting the example that successful action can be taken. Ultimately, we can aid in the rehabilitation of our environment when we recycle and use recycled goods like the new Adidas shoe concept.
