Ahead of their premier league match against Watford last Saturday, Manchester City players walked onto the pitch wearing special PUMA jerseys made using repurposed football shirts as part of PUMA’s recycling project RE:JERSEY.
PUMA says the aim of RE:JERSEY is to “reduce waste and pave the way towards more circular production models in the future”. The football kits PUMA produces are already made from 100% recycled polyester, PUMA says; however, the RE:JERSEY shirt worn ahead of the game on Saturday was made using 75% repurposed football jerseys with the other 25% coming from SEAQUAL ® MARINE PLASTIC.
The shirts made as part of the RE:JERSEY project will also be worn by players during the pre-match warm-ups by Manchester City’s Women’s Team against Leicester on Sunday, as well as by AC Milan, Borussia Dortmund, and Olympique de Marseille in April and May.
The centre circle at the Etihad Stadium carried the message: Eat, Sleep, City Repeat – 100% RE:JERSEY on a bright blue patchwork, which was crafted using recycled materials, will also be recycled as part of the experiment.
General Manager BU Teamsport at PUMA, Matthias Bäumer, said: “With RE:JERSEY, we are taking an important step in garment-to-garment recycling which will help us reduce waste in the future.”
PUMA says that the recycling process used for the RE:JERSEY project means old garments that feature logos, embroideries and club badges can be used, as the material is chemically broken down into its main components through depolymerization.
Colours are then filtered out and the material is chemically put back together to create a yarn through repolymerization that has the same performance characteristics as virgin polyester.
PUMA is also setting up special collection bins at the City Store next to the Etihad Stadium and inviting fans to donate their old polyester items.
Director of Sustainability at Manchester City, Pete Bradshaw, said: “With RE:JERSEY, PUMA is looking for new ways to make sporting goods more circular and we are proud to be able to play a part in this journey, working to engage fans, community, workforce and partners – actively collaborating for a better future.”
The RE:JERSEY pilot experiment is part of PUMA’s Circular Lab and its Forever Better sustainability platform. As part of Circular Lab, PUMA announced the RE:SUEDE program last year, which is testing whether the company can make a biodegradable version of its iconic Suede sneaker.
