The last week of June saw a new tennis collection launch from adidas by Stella McCartney Tennis collection created through innovative, eco-friendly Dope Dye Technology methods which saw the pieces created from recycled ocean plastic waste.
The 17-piece collection, which will debut on court at Wimbledon 2019 (which runs from 1 to 14 July), was launched vi a campaign that focused on the fact the materials were made from plastic waste intercepted from beaches (before reaching the ocean), plus synthetic fibres made from plastic bottles and old clothes.
The kits will be worn at this year’s tournament by an impressive line-up of elite players: including current champion Angelique Kerber, former World No1 Caroline Wozniacki, 2017 winner Garbiñe Muguruza, as well as Alexander Zverev, Dominic Thiem and Stefanos Tsitsipas (marking the first time McCartney has rolled out both women’s and men’s kit for a tennis grand slam).
As well as the PR-led launch event, the collection’s promotion al campaign featured video and image content pieces rolled out across social media.
Tennis whites go green. The new adidas by Stella McCartney collection is here, worn by athlete @StefTsitsipas, and it pushes the limits of sustainability and performance. Discover the collection here: https://t.co/oO2qeAvwb7 pic.twitter.com/Y6NJOYSYPi
— Stella McCartney (@StellaMcCartney) June 25, 2019
While items worn on Wimbledon’s hallowed turf from this green apparel range will, of course, adhere to the club’s all white rules, the wider collection also features camouflage inspired prints and red accent hues.
The collection’s Dope Dye methods leads to reduced water waste by adding colour directly into the material mix at the initial stage of production.
“I’m ready to return to London and defend my title at Wimbledon, I just love the tradition of it,” said current Wimbledon champion Angelique Kerber.
“I am proud to be wearing the new adidas by Stella McCartney Tennis Collection on court this year, it was created using technology which saves water waste and features fabrics which keep me cool and comfortable, really delivering on my dynamic performance needs.”
“I definitely think it’s very important to protect the environment and the planet — the impact is present in every aspect of our lives, including sport,” added Caroline Wozniacki.
Comment:
This campaign is a long way from the glitzy mirror launch of the Adidas/McCartney tie-ups 2013 Wimbledon collection campaign (see case study).
Indeed, it has much more in common with adidas’ ongoing Parley For The Oceans eco partnership which included an environmentally friendly tennis apparel collection for the 2019 Australian Open in January (see case study), the WSL’s recent #StopTrashingWaves (see case study) and it follows in the footsteps of some other eco friendly Wimbledon initiatives which range from last year’s decision by the AELTC to ban plastic straws on site, to this year’s roll out of the first 100-per-cent recycled and recyclable water bottle from tournament sponsor/supplier Evian.
Links:
Adidas by Stella McCartney
https://www.adidas.co.uk/adidas_by_stella_mccartney
https://www.stellamccartney.com
https://twitter.com/stellamccartney
https://www.instagram.com/stellamccartney/
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