Adidas and Parley for the Oceans have constructed a tennis court out of recycled ocean plastic and set it afloat, in time for the Australian Open, within Australia’s Great Barrier Reef marine park. The court does not itself float but is set atop one of the park authority’s barges. It also lacks barriers, but Adidas says all tennis balls are being fished out of the water.
The stunt is meant to promote both Parley’s collection of ocean plastic and Adidas’ new line of tennis apparel, which is itself made in part of Parley’s plastic and being worn by some of the competitors in the tournament. The marketing campaign features the swimmer Ian Thorpe, the canoeist Jess Fox, the rugby player Nathan Cleary and the model Steph Claire Smith.
Once the Australian Open is over, the court’s surface will be recycled into a sports court to be built at a school in the nearby city of Townsville.
Adidas is pledging to “replace virgin polyester in our products with recycled polyester wherever possible” by 2024, recalled Shannon Morgan, senior director of brand for the Pacific region.
Parley has previously supplied Adidas with recycled ocean plastic for football jerseys (for Real Madrid and Manchester United) and its Terrex line of outdoor apparel as well as running shoes, sneakers and hiking boots.
