Running News Daily

JUST Water cartons will replace 19,000 plastic botles at London´s Asics 10K race

Taking place this weekend, the Virgin Sport ASICS London 10K race (organized by Richard Branson’s Virgin Sport company) will be plastic-bottle free thanks to a new partnership with JUST Water—a sustainable water brand owned by father-and-son team Jaden and Will Smith.

In lieu of 19,000 plastic bottles, runners will receive cartons of JUST water at the finish line this year. During the race, all aid stations will be equipped with recyclable cups, eliminating the use of 40,000 plastic bottles.

In addition to this weekend’s race, Virgin Sport aims to eliminate all plastic bottles—approximately 500,000—from its events this year.

“JUST is incredibly proud to join efforts alongside Virgin Sport at the ASICS London 10K to reduce plastic at the event,” the water company said in a statement.

“Together, we aim to inspire and show that a small change, such as changing your bottled water to a more sustainable option, is something we all can do to create a positive impact on our planet.”

Jaden Smith was only 12 years old when he launched the brand with his father and has been a prominent advocate for providing those in need access to clean water, including in Flint, MI where he installed a JUST mobile water filtration system this year to aid with the water crisis in the region.

On his 21st birthday earlier this month, Jaden Smith debuted the first pop-up of his I Love You Restaurant on Skid Row in Los Angeles, a food truck serving vegan food to people experiencing homelessness—the first of many, according to the young activist.