First, before I get into this cool development in the world of soccer, I want to say that if these teams can get recycled plastic jerseys that are a good enough quality for players makings millions upon millions of dollars a year, hopefully it won’t be long before everyone can, and if you are a soccer player or have kids who are, look to be at the head of the pack and get these as soon as possible!
I first saw news of these jerseys made of recycled plastic bottles months before the World Cup started when Brazil decided to use them. Now, the news is that professional soccer powerhouse Arsenal (in the English Premier League) is going to start using them as well. And apparently several other teams — Portugal, the Netherlands (my favorite international team), FC Barcelona (my favorite club team), Inter Milan, Manchester United, Celtic, and others — are also already using them.
Arjen Robben, star of the Netherlands soccer team, which is now using recycled plastic jerseys.
The jerseys are part of Nike’s Considered Design program. Nike says the bottles used are collected in Japan and Taiwan and it cuts energy use during the shirt manufacturing process by 30%.
Nike’s Considered Design products have “diverted about 13 million plastic water bottles from landfill, representing a total of 254,000kg of polyester waste,” reports BusinessGreen.
Of the new Arsenal shirts, which will be made available to fans as well as players, Arsenal star Theo Walcott said, “The colours are very traditional, it feels nice and it’s made from recycled plastic bottles so what more can you ask for?”
If you are a soccer fan and a greenie, like me, this has to be some of the coolest news all year. Get your team recycled plastic jerseys as soon as you can.