McDonald’s has introduced a swimwear range made from plastic straws in Austria – and collaborated on a ‘saucy’ range of shoes with Adidas in India.

The swimwear initiative started out as a solution to the problem of what to do with the waste plastic after McDonald’s Austria replaced all plastic straws in its restaurants and shake cups with recyclable paper. 

“We are pleased that this Austria-made, Europe-made and globally unique sustainability collection made from recycled material in our classic straw design accompanies us into a unique summer,” explained Benedikt Böcker, marketing director at McDonald’s Austria.

Designed by Viennese label Poleit in collaboration with Studio Furore, the McDonald’s swimwear line consists of a swimsuit and a swim short, featuring the brand’s signature colours yellow and red.

According to the company, the collection is made from certified seaqual fibre and plastic straws to ensure the swimwear quality – quick drying and pleasant. 

“Implementing an upcycling project from the iconic ‘Mäcci straws’ [McDonald’s straws] and accompanying McDonald’s in another major step in plastic reduction was a very special order for us,” said Marie Pierer von Poleit.

The McDonald’s sustainability strategy will reduce more than 90 tons of plastic annually, according to Nikolaus Piza, MD of McDonald’s Austria.

Getting saucy in India

Meanwhile, McDonald’s has teamed with sportswear label Adidas to launch the ‘Sauce Pack’ sneaker collection in India. The collection’s design was inspired by famous basketball players’ playing style and McDonald’s sauce packaging. 

The Sauce Pack collection has four sneaker models – Harden Vol.4, Dame 6,  T-Mac 1 and D Rose 10. Those models were named after four basketball players, James Harden, Damian Lillard, Tracy McGrady and D-Rose.