Made from recyclable plastics gathered from the ocean and coastal communities, adidas and Parley’s sustainable PrimeBlue material is used on the UltraBoost 20 for the first time ever, and it’s presented in a fresh, summer ready style.

At the beginning of the year, adidas unveiled two new sustainable technologies that would be introduced into its performance equipment, progressing their plans to become fully carbon neutral by 2050. The two technologies in question were PrimeBlue and PrimeGreen, both of which contain 100 percent recycled polyester. And having featured at Super Bowl LIV, PrimeBlue now makes the transition to the UltraBoost.

PrimeBlue is a performance fabric that contains Parley Ocean Plastic, while PrimeGreen is a performance fabric which contains no virgin plastic. But with the latter yet to feature across the Three Stripes’ key competitive products, it’s the former that comes into focus here. And make no mistake, there is zero performance sacrifice for the switch,  with the Primeknit upper still featuring Tailored Fibre Placement technology for an adaptive, responsive fit, while the midfoot cage and heel clips add support and structure. 

It’s through these last two components that the otherwise white silhouette gets its flashes of colour, with the stitched Three Stripes emerging through the cage in blue, and the clip taking on a vibrant orange. And the 20 percent extra Boost foam of the shoe’s name is still present, amplifying that signature responsive and energised feeling. Of course, if you're not after performance but love the feel of UltraBoost and the principle of wearing a fully sustainable shoe, then check out the Parley UltraBoost DNA, an option fully placed in lifestyle circles.

The adidas PrimeBlue UltraBoost 20 is due to launch on 14 May.