Gunners Go Green

26 July 2010 by Daniella Lucas

Premier League football club Arsenal’s new kit shows off its green credentials.

Arsenal kit The club’s new shirts are made from recycled polyester derived from plastic water bottles. This apparel is produced as part of Nike’s ‘Considered Design’ programme, which aims to create products that use environmentally preferred materials, reduce waste, and eliminate toxins.

Several clubs such as Manchester United, Celtic, FC Barcelona and Inter Milan already use the material in their kits, as do international teams Brazil, USA, Australia, the Netherlands, and Portugal.

The material is made by placing the bottles in a large washing machine in order to clean them and get rid of the labels. Then they are chopped into tiny flakes and melted down to make a yarn, which is spun to produce the fabric for the jerseys and shorts. Using recycled bottles reduces energy consumption by up to 30 per cent compared to conventional fabrics. Shirts for both players and fans are produced using this method.

By using the recycled polyester, Nike has reused 254 tonnes of polyester waste or 13 million plastic water bottles, which is enough to cover 29 football fields.

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