On June 8th was the World Oceans Day. For the occasion adidas & Parley organized a big event in Los Angeles to educate and raise awareness about ocean conservation. We revealed a few days ago the program of activities, whose central point was the launch of the race #RunForTheOceans.
Fubiz was present with the photographer Eliott Fournié in the beautiful setting of Los Angeles, to make you relive this event from the inside.
“Nowadays, the issue is not just about protecting whales or oceans, it’s about protecting ourselves. Plastic is part of our food chain. The fish eats it, we eat the fish and we feed it to our children. It’s time to create the change, to start looking for real solutions to protect the next generation.”
Mike Long, Director of Operations at Parley.
On the Santa Catalina island, the appointment was made for a breathing class, led by Hanli Prinsloo. The goal of this initiation course to apnea: become aware of your body. The freediver then made an appointment in an underwater environment to get in touch with the ecosystem she rubs shoulders with on a daily basis. A perfect framework to show the importance of pedagogy and communication for the protection of the oceans.
“Everyone must begin to realize that everything we do can be done for a specific purpose and can be done with meaning. Whether you are a banker, teacher or journalist, whatever you do, your action, your decision, your messages count. The important thing is to always put the subject back on the table “
Hanli Prinsloo, freediver and founder of the I Am Water Foundation.
Peruvian big wave surfer Gabriel Villaràn was also there to express himself on how he is mobilizing, as a surfer and a daily user of the oceans, during his competitions around the world. In the same way as Hanli Prinsloo, Gabriel Villaràn lives in harmony with the oceans. Daily he is in contact with this element so precious for the natural balance. In Peru, he works with schools and universities to help educate and educate young people about ecology and environmental protection.
“ “We need people known as sportsmen, politicians and leaders in other fields. Social media is powerful and people follow leaders, athletes, musicians. The starting point is to be close to these important people and to involve them. They can pass the right messages. ”
Gabriel Villaràn, Peruvian Big Waves surfer.
This event was also the occasion for adidas to present its partnership with Parley, which started in 2015. The brand with three bands imagined a range of sneakers and textiles intended for the sport practice, and elaborated from plastic waste collected before that they are thrown into the oceans and then turned into Parley Ocean Plastic ™. Through this action, adidas offers an important avenue to the cause of protecting the oceans.
Through sport and its global presence, the brand has the power to change attitudes and our vision. Through its communication, adidas has the opportunity to educate or broadcast a message to athletes of all levels including the community runners World Wild. Matthias Amm, director of the adidas product category | Parley, also took advantage of this event to reiterate adidas’s desire to mobilize and involve all of its community in this cause. This partnership paves the way for the brand’s investment in eco-innovation over the long term.
“We want to fight the plastic that pollutes the oceans with creative and practical solutions like shoes, and take it to the next level – it’s more than a partnership with Parley, we want to feed each other and learn from each other. others to create a real network. “
Nick Maas, Director of Sport Strategy at adidas.
These two days of events ended with the flagship activation: #RunForTheOceans.
Through this global movement of running, adidas and Parley mobilize and sensitize all runners around the planet. Via the application Runtastic, which in addition to counting the kilometers, has a social dimension by connecting the users between them. Athletes are invited to run from June 8 to July 8 to support the action of the Parley Ocean Plastic program.
By uniting around a sporting event, participants will be able to spread the word and raise awareness over the miles. No less than 12 races are organized in the cities of Los Angeles, New York, Paris, Berlin, London, Barcelona, Milan and Shanghai. On June 8th, the first of these took place in Los Angeles in the beautiful setting of Temescal Park, in the Pacific Palisades district. The Los Angeles adidas Runners teams and athletes of all levels were on hand to join forces to support Parley’s action on ocean conservation. A great fervor was created until late in the evening, under a beautiful Californian sunset.
The evening ended with a surprise concert by American rapper Anderson Paak.
The freediver Hanli Prinsloo and surfer Gabriel Villaràn took the opportunity to give us some tips to reduce the amount of plastic in the oceans. Everyone at his level can have a gesture for the planet. For example we can drink water in reusable bottles to shed less plastic. It is necessary to show the example. At the beach, throw plastics that we find in the ocean or on the sand in front of other vacationers so that the action can be anchored in each of us.
In our daily eating habits, we can find simple solutions. Everyone can avoid taking packaged meals in disposable plastic trays or not accepting coffee to go in cups made of non-recyclable materials.
A large-scale event that allowed adidas and Parley to deliver important messages to serve as a vital cause for the survival of our ecosystem. The first way to combat the pollution of the oceans by plastic is to demonstrate pedagogy.
All pictures by Fubiz Studio Talent : Eliott Fournié
