Synopsis Under the ‘Run for the ocean’ initiative, Adidas has sold 11 million pairs of shoes made from up-cycled marine plastic waste in 2019. ET Spotlight Special “From ‘no-plastic’, the conversation has moved to ‘know-plastic’, where we need to understand plastic better to use it more responsibly,” says Vikram Baid, Director of Vinayak Polycon International, a plastic processing company. This sentiment was reflected in many initiatives launched by India Inc. and the Indian government in recent times, but got partially diluted by COVID-19 and the consequent high use of plastic equipment to prevent infections. There’s another dimension, too. “COVID dealt a blow to the recycling industry at the grassroots level,” says Atul Sud, president of WECARE, an industry association focused on extended producer responsibility (EPR) and plastic waste management (PWM). “The rag-pickers remained most vulnerable to the pandemic with their lack of safety and health benefits and awareness.”