Campaign To Raise Awareness of Marine Plastic Pollution
For every 10 minutes of running or participating in physical activity, Adidas commits to cleaning the equivalent weight of one plastic bottle from the beaches or islands to reach 250,000 kg.
The Woman Post | Catalina Mejía Pizano
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Run for the Oceans is a global campaign designed to raise awareness of plastic pollution in our oceans through practicing sports. The message that the initiative aims to spread is that sports can make us achieve the impossible while inspiring positive action towards ending plastic pollution. For every 10 minutes of running or taking part in other physical activities, Adidas and Parley commit to cleaning the equivalent weight of one plastic bottle from the beaches or islands to reach 250,000 kg.
Marine plastic pollution affects at least 700 animal species. According to the UN Environment Programme, it is estimated that 75 to 199 million tonnes of plastic are currently found in our oceans. Around the globe, one million plastic bottles are purchased every minute, and five trillion plastic bags are used per year. It is surprising to find out that half of all plastic is designed for single use. The extent of the plastic situation has even led scientists to provide a name to a new marine microbial habitat called the plastisphere. By 2050, some scientists are convinced there will be more plastic than fish.
It is worth mentioning that Adidas, Parley, and Runtastic initially launched Run for the Oceans in 2017 as a collaborative attempt to address the growing problem of marine pollution while engaging consumers to make part of the campaign. It all may seem confusing to begin with, but participating is easy! The first step involves downloading the Adidas running app and creating your account. Then register for the Run for the Oceans mission in the Adidas running app. Your task is to upload every minute you run from May 23 to June 8 on the app. You can also participate using Strava, JoyRun, Yuedongquan, and Codon.
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The inscription for Run for The Oceans begins on May 9, and people can race solo or in groups, anywhere and as many times as they want to. For every minute to count, it must be uploaded on the app. You may now be wondering if those who do not enjoy running can participate, and the answer is a big yes! Since Run for the Oceans aims to produce a global impact, the campaign intends to involve every physical activity that includes running. Users can register any of the following actions: Elliptical, hike, run, stair-stepper, virtual run, walk, wheelchair, golf, basketball, rugby, cricket, frisbee, hockey, or lacrosse.
Despite the alarming data that confirms the magnitude of the plastic pollution in the oceans, the good news is that the world is waking up to the problem, and governments, industry, and other stakeholders are taking measures. Signing up for Run for the Oceans is the first step for those wondering how they can go that extra mile towards addressing plastic pollution. However, let's not forget that we can all do many actions, such as bringing our coffee mugs to work, joining beach clean-ups, carrying reusable bags, using bamboo toothbrushes, and avoiding fast fashion!
