Today, adidas unveiled the latest in its series of Speedfactory-built runners: the AM4LA. The shoe marks the first integration of Parley Ocean Plastic into Speedfactory production.
Assembled at adidas’ Speedfactory USA outside of Atlanta, the AM4LA features a 100% recycled upper that contains Parley Ocean Plastic yarns (the yarns are made from plastic bottles retrieved from coastal areas like the Maldives). According to adidas, each pair of AM4LA sneakers prevents an equivalent of eleven plastic bottles from entering our oceans.
The adidas AM4LA features a Primeknit upper with engineered ventilation zones, a Torsion Bar that “floats” within the sole without the stiffness of adhesives, and fused bonding construction that digitally bonds the sole to the upper while eliminating glue. The shoe rides atop a full-length Boost midsole for comfort and energy return.
According to adidas, the Speedfactory uses a unique process of fit programming that allows tension patches to be digitally mapped onto the shoe’s upper to create a precise fit with less material.
“With AM4LA, we set out to reexamine and change our traditional ways of design and production,” said Ben Herath, VP of Design for adidas Running, in a statement. “We want to make sure that we not only deliver the best for our athlete, but also do what is best for our planet. By leveraging SPEEDFACTORY’s digital production capabilities, integrating Parley Ocean Plastic® into it, and pushing our designers’ creative boundaries, we have successfully created a high performance running shoe while simultaneously reducing waste and unnecessary by-products.”
The adidas AM4LA will cost $200 and go on sale at the adidas Santa Monica store and select Consortium retailers on May 25. The shoe will hit adidas.com on June 2.
As part of the shoe’s launch, adidas will be hosting a pop-up Speedfactory Experience Lab event in Los Angeles for the public. There, guests will be able to receive custom and private footscan data to learn more about their running pattern and test run the shoe with interactive experiences.
Source: adidas
“retrieved from coastal areas”
So technically not *from* the ocean, but from the land next to the ocean.