The amount of plastic living in our oceans is undoubtedly a hot topic of discussion. Cities and countries around the world are working towards creating laws and bans against single-use items. National Geographic released an entire vertical titled Planet vs. Plastic. Nonprofits dedicated to our oceans continue to speak up and put together clean-ups while seeking new ways to create change.

The partnership between nonprofit, Parley for the Oceans and athletic wear company, Adidas was first announced in April 2015, and two months later a concept to create a shoe entirely made of yarns and filaments of reclaimed plastic waste was shown to the UN headquarters. Later in November, members of the Adidas team would attend Parley Ocean School in the Maldives, where they’d learn firsthand the state of our oceans.