{"id":17082,"date":"2022-01-13T03:39:37","date_gmt":"2022-01-13T03:39:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/?post_type=articles&p=208044"},"modified":"2022-01-13T03:39:37","modified_gmt":"2022-01-13T03:39:37","slug":"adidas-tennis-range-2022","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/me\/articles\/adidas-tennis-range-2022\/","title":{"rendered":"Adidas\u2019 Pledge To Protect Our Oceans Is A Grand Slam Hit"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Adidas\"
Steph Claire Smith, Nathan Cleary, Ian Thorpe, Jess Fox. Credit: Adidas<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

THE GREAT BARRIER REEF, AUSTRALIA: It\u2019s hard to imagine the pristine, cerulean waters of the heritage-listed Great Barrier Reef \u2013 or the \u201cblue highway\u201d as it is affectionately known \u2013 cluttered with marine debris.<\/p>\n

But with the equivalent of 1400 dump trucks of plastic entering our oceans every day<\/em>, the image of creatures such as the flatback turtle ingesting plastic (a species found nowhere else on planet Earth), is a sobering reality. In fact, at this rate, by 2050 oceans will contain more plastic than fish.<\/p>\n

Today, ahead of Monday\u2019s Australian Open and in a bid to slow plastic waste entering our oceans, Adidas has launched its new Tennis apparel range<\/a> \u2013 a buzzy, sustainable line made in part with Parley Ocean Plastic<\/a>, and entirely inspired by the Great Barrier Reef\u2019s colours; striking coral reds seeping into deep, royal blues.<\/p>\n

\"Adidas\"
Steph Claire Smith and Jess Fox. Credit: Adidas<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cWe collect plastic off coastal communities before<\/em> it goes into the oceans and turn it into yarn,\u201d explains Adidas\u2019 Pacific Senior Director of Brand Shannon Morgan, a method Adidas has been adopting since 2015 when it announced its partnership with ocean warriors Parley. \u201cYou\u2019ll see our athletes in the range on the court at the Australian Open on Monday. We\u2019re using a sporting event \u2013 the biggest in our backyard \u2013 to really showcase the beauty of the reef.\u201d<\/p>\n

“We need to continue to implement sustainable solutions now, so that we can help create a new era of sport for future generations.”<\/span><\/p>\n

Adidas have never done activations by halves, and today was no exception. Working with the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, the apparel giant called on Australian sporting personalities Ian Thorpe, Jess Fox, Steph Claire Smith and Nathan Cleary to step aboard a (rather spectacular) full-sized ocean tennis court atop of a barge in the middle of the Great Barrier Reef.<\/p>\n

With the sun beating down, the stars tried their hand at a game of tennis on the floating court, with many an errant ball flying into the water. (Editor\u2019s note: These were retrieved post-match, and the court itself will be donated to a local school in Townsville.)<\/p>\n

\"Adidas\"
Credit: Adidas<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Credit: Adidas<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cWhen this [event] came up, I actually put my hand up and said to Adidas that this something I\u2019d really like to be a part of,\u201d says Thorpe (who shared he spent lockdown writing a fiction book!). \u201cI see the water as being this really equitable space.”<\/p>\n

“When we remember our holidays as kids, there\u2019s usually a beach that is related to that \u2013 hot sand, running into the ocean. It becomes quite emotive.”<\/span><\/p>\n

“So when we look at what\u2019s happening and the fact that we can go back to some of those remote places and find plastic at the beaches, it can be quite overwhelming,” he continues. “Plastic is the only thing that doesn\u2019t have an end life to it. It will exist in the environment forever. Everything else will, at some point, break down and die. Plastic doesn\u2019t. And it needs to be addressed.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Adidas\"
Jess Fox and Ian Thorpe. Credit: Adidas<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Eco-innovation at all levels of the supply chain is something Adidas is clearly really passionate about. As we sit in limbo at this strange inflection point in the world \u2013 somewhere between a life-changing virus and irreversible environmental damage \u2013 it’s heartwarming to see a brand as big as Adidas fulfil longterm strategies, and draw their global audience’s attention to the biggest and most tangible threats facing marine environments.<\/p>\n

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\u201cWe\u2019re in the centre of the Great Barrier Reef today, it stretches 2300km along the Queensland coast,\u201d Fred Nucifora, Director of Reef Education and Engagement at the Great Barrier Reef and Marine Park Authority, explains to media on a boat trip out to the tennis court. \u201cTo put that into perspective, it\u2019s as long as the west coast of the United States of America. There\u2019s 3000 individual reefs over 1000 islands ranging from little caves to continental islands.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHome to one of the most biologically diverse eco-systems on our planet, I really compliment Adidas and the work that they are doing with their sustainability ranges, because it\u2019s those actions that help to protect places like the Great Barrier Reef and eco-systems that depend on it and are connected to it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Adidas\"
Steph Claire Smith, Nathan Cleary, Ian Thorpe, Jess Fox. Credit: Adidas<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Nucifora then gestures to his left, pointing to Magnetic Island.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the last two weeks, flatback turtles have been emerging from their nests,\u201d he says. \u201cThe efforts of Adidas and Parley in preventing that plastic from actually entering the ocean is really making the lives of turtles a little bit better.\u201d<\/p>\n

To the turtles and their home.<\/p>\n

The new Adidas Tennis apparel range is available online now at adidas.com\/tennis<\/a> and in select Adidas stores and onsite at the Australian Open from January 17th.<\/span><\/p>\n