CSR - Nike’s 2010 recycled football World Cup kits prove innovative performance is sustainable
Last updated 01/03/2010 10:21:47
CSR - Nike recycled 2010 football World Cup kits
Great sportsmanship will be making an environmental statement at this summer's World Cup 2010 in South Africa. Football's leading players including Cristiano Ronaldo, Robinho and Ji-Sung Park will be sporting the most environmentally-friendly and technologically-advanced kit ever made from 100 percent recycled polyester, diverting 13 million plastic bottles from landfills.
All of Nike's national teams will be wearing jerseys made from 100 percent recycled polyester, diverting 13 million plastic bottles from landfills, each one produced from up to eight recycled bottles.
Charlie Denson, president, Nike Brand, said: "We are equipping athletes with newly designed uniforms that not only look great and deliver performance benefits, but are also made with recycled materials, creating less impact on our environment".
To make the 2010 national team kits, Nike's fabric suppliers produced new yarn that had been melted from discarded from plastic bottles sourced from Japanese and Taiwanese landfill sites, ultimately converting the fabric for the jerseys.
This process saves raw materials and reduces energy consumption by up to 30 percent compared to manufacturing virgin polyester.
By using recycled polyester for its new range of national jerseys, Nike has prevented millions plastic bottles, totalling nearly 254,000 kg of polyester waste, from going into landfill sites. This amount would be enough to cover more than 29 football pitches.
The teams wearing Nike's new national team jerseys in South Africa are: Brazil, The Netherlands, Portugal, USA, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand, Serbia, and Slovenia.
The kits have been designed to keep players drier, cooler and more comfortable, allowing them to maintain an optimum body temperature and perform at their best on the pitch.
The improved Nike Dri-Fit fabric, now 15 percent lighter than previous Nike kit fabrications, helps keep players dry by drawing sweat to the outside of the garment where it evaporates. Ventilation zones have been placed on each side of the jersey to enhance breathability, and are combined with a fabric that increases air-flow by up to seven percent compared to previous kits. Air can now pass across a player's whole torso, keeping him cooler. These ventilation zones consist of up to 200 tiny laser cut holes which are backed by Nike's innovative halo application. This treatment prevents ripping without reducing air-flow.
The Nike kit shorts also have additional ventilation zones placed below the waistband and near the base of the spine, so this area prone to high sweat levels will now be significantly drier.
The jersey's new double knit structure not only gives it a sleeker appearance, while offering 10 percent more stretch than the last Nike national team kit jerseys, but also a new dynamic fit cut to follow the natural contours of the body while still allowing for maximum airflow and movement.
Away national team kits are already available starting while national team home kits will be available May 1.
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