Following Chelsea’s Champions League triumph, you might be tempted to think that blue is the colour. However, you could be wide of the mark: there are increasing signs that football is turning a pleasing shade of green.
One significant piece of evidence is adidas’s latest foray with Parley, an organisation that has set out its stall to protect our oceans. The end product of this collaboration is football shirts with a sustainability twist: they are made from waste plastic. Recently unveiled was the new strip for US team Inter Miami, who feature Champions League veterans Gonzalo Higuaín and Blaise Matuidi among their ranks and are part-owned by David Beckham.
There’s been previous. For example, in 2016/17, Real Madrid and Bayern München also wore adidas x Parley gear made from recycled plastic – and the badges and details were printed with water-based methods, rather than the usual ink that contains PVC. Real full-back Marcelo said, “I have a real connection with the ocean from growing up in Rio de Janeiro; I have so many memories of playing football on the beach.” The 13-times European champions also teamed up with Parley for their (fittingly) salmon-pink third kit in 2018/19. More collaborations with top Champions League sides are planned too.
Following Chelsea’s Champions League triumph, you might be tempted to think that blue is the colour. However, you could be wide of the mark: there are increasing signs that football is turning a pleasing shade of green.
One significant piece of evidence is adidas’s latest foray with Parley, an organisation that has set out its stall to protect our oceans. The end product of this collaboration is football shirts with a sustainability twist: they are made from waste plastic. Recently unveiled was the new strip for US team Inter Miami, who feature Champions League veterans Gonzalo Higuaín and Blaise Matuidi among their ranks and are part-owned by David Beckham.
There’s been previous. For example, in 2016/17, Real Madrid and Bayern München also wore adidas x Parley gear made from recycled plastic – and the badges and details were printed with water-based methods, rather than the usual ink that contains PVC. Real full-back Marcelo said, “I have a real connection with the ocean from growing up in Rio de Janeiro; I have so many memories of playing football on the beach.” The 13-times European champions also teamed up with Parley for their (fittingly) salmon-pink third kit in 2018/19. More collaborations with top Champions League sides are planned too.
Parley were founded in 2012 by Cyrill Gutsch. The environmentalist says, “Plastic is the symbol of a super failure. We are seeing enough and we know enough to predict what is about to come. And together with adidas, we took the first step.” Parley’s flagship joint effort with adidas is a trainer made from illegal fishing nets and bottles gathered in the Maldives. In general, the plastic they upcycle is reclaimed from beaches and coastal communities before it slips into the sea; they intercept it before it has chance to cause untold damage to marine life and the environment.
Meanwhile Beckham, not content with kitting out his team in eco-friendly garb, has recently acquired a stake in a company called Lunaz. The English firm are leading the move away from fossil fuels by converting classic cars – and ultimately waste-management lorries – into electrically powered vehicles.
So could there come a day when both contenders in a Champions League final arrive at the stadium in electric buses and head onto the pitch wearing kits made from discarded plastic? Green is the colour, football is the game…
Following Chelsea’s Champions League triumph, you might be tempted to think that blue is the colour. However, you could be wide of the mark: there are increasing signs that football is turning a pleasing shade of green.
One significant piece of evidence is adidas’s latest foray with Parley, an organisation that has set out its stall to protect our oceans. The end product of this collaboration is football shirts with a sustainability twist: they are made from waste plastic. Recently unveiled was the new strip for US team Inter Miami, who feature Champions League veterans Gonzalo Higuaín and Blaise Matuidi among their ranks and are part-owned by David Beckham.
There’s been previous. For example, in 2016/17, Real Madrid and Bayern München also wore adidas x Parley gear made from recycled plastic – and the badges and details were printed with water-based methods, rather than the usual ink that contains PVC. Real full-back Marcelo said, “I have a real connection with the ocean from growing up in Rio de Janeiro; I have so many memories of playing football on the beach.” The 13-times European champions also teamed up with Parley for their (fittingly) salmon-pink third kit in 2018/19. More collaborations with top Champions League sides are planned too.
Following Chelsea’s Champions League triumph, you might be tempted to think that blue is the colour. However, you could be wide of the mark: there are increasing signs that football is turning a pleasing shade of green.
One significant piece of evidence is adidas’s latest foray with Parley, an organisation that has set out its stall to protect our oceans. The end product of this collaboration is football shirts with a sustainability twist: they are made from waste plastic. Recently unveiled was the new strip for US team Inter Miami, who feature Champions League veterans Gonzalo Higuaín and Blaise Matuidi among their ranks and are part-owned by David Beckham.
There’s been previous. For example, in 2016/17, Real Madrid and Bayern München also wore adidas x Parley gear made from recycled plastic – and the badges and details were printed with water-based methods, rather than the usual ink that contains PVC. Real full-back Marcelo said, “I have a real connection with the ocean from growing up in Rio de Janeiro; I have so many memories of playing football on the beach.” The 13-times European champions also teamed up with Parley for their (fittingly) salmon-pink third kit in 2018/19. More collaborations with top Champions League sides are planned too.
Following Chelsea’s Champions League triumph, you might be tempted to think that blue is the colour. However, you could be wide of the mark: there are increasing signs that football is turning a pleasing shade of green.
One significant piece of evidence is adidas’s latest foray with Parley, an organisation that has set out its stall to protect our oceans. The end product of this collaboration is football shirts with a sustainability twist: they are made from waste plastic. Recently unveiled was the new strip for US team Inter Miami, who feature Champions League veterans Gonzalo Higuaín and Blaise Matuidi among their ranks and are part-owned by David Beckham.
There’s been previous. For example, in 2016/17, Real Madrid and Bayern München also wore adidas x Parley gear made from recycled plastic – and the badges and details were printed with water-based methods, rather than the usual ink that contains PVC. Real full-back Marcelo said, “I have a real connection with the ocean from growing up in Rio de Janeiro; I have so many memories of playing football on the beach.” The 13-times European champions also teamed up with Parley for their (fittingly) salmon-pink third kit in 2018/19. More collaborations with top Champions League sides are planned too.
Parley were founded in 2012 by Cyrill Gutsch. The environmentalist says, “Plastic is the symbol of a super failure. We are seeing enough and we know enough to predict what is about to come. And together with adidas, we took the first step.” Parley’s flagship joint effort with adidas is a trainer made from illegal fishing nets and bottles gathered in the Maldives. In general, the plastic they upcycle is reclaimed from beaches and coastal communities before it slips into the sea; they intercept it before it has chance to cause untold damage to marine life and the environment.
Meanwhile Beckham, not content with kitting out his team in eco-friendly garb, has recently acquired a stake in a company called Lunaz. The English firm are leading the move away from fossil fuels by converting classic cars – and ultimately waste-management lorries – into electrically powered vehicles.
So could there come a day when both contenders in a Champions League final arrive at the stadium in electric buses and head onto the pitch wearing kits made from discarded plastic? Green is the colour, football is the game…
Following Chelsea’s Champions League triumph, you might be tempted to think that blue is the colour. However, you could be wide of the mark: there are increasing signs that football is turning a pleasing shade of green.
One significant piece of evidence is adidas’s latest foray with Parley, an organisation that has set out its stall to protect our oceans. The end product of this collaboration is football shirts with a sustainability twist: they are made from waste plastic. Recently unveiled was the new strip for US team Inter Miami, who feature Champions League veterans Gonzalo Higuaín and Blaise Matuidi among their ranks and are part-owned by David Beckham.
There’s been previous. For example, in 2016/17, Real Madrid and Bayern München also wore adidas x Parley gear made from recycled plastic – and the badges and details were printed with water-based methods, rather than the usual ink that contains PVC. Real full-back Marcelo said, “I have a real connection with the ocean from growing up in Rio de Janeiro; I have so many memories of playing football on the beach.” The 13-times European champions also teamed up with Parley for their (fittingly) salmon-pink third kit in 2018/19. More collaborations with top Champions League sides are planned too.
