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Plastic-Based  Nike  Kits for  the  21/22  Season

Since the 1950s, professional football players have been wearing polyester or other synthetic fibers within their teams’ jerseys. Teams have been sponsored by the biggest sports brands like Adidas, Nike, Puma, etc. which enter each new season with the latest and improved technology for some of the biggest teams in the world to showcase. Let's set the scene real fast, it is the summer of 2021, football is finally getting back to normal after the COVID-19 pandemic left stadiums empty. Nike is top of the chain within the football world, with their cleats reaching a new level of popularity and some of the best teams in the world signing sponsorship deals with the brand. 

Now each summer before the season begins Nike always launches the newest technology and unique designs of their top 9 sponsored teams, which include, Chelsea, Barcelona, PSG, Liverpool, Tottenham, and Leipzig to name a few, But in the summer of 2021, Nike released kits made out of 100% recycled plastic bottles. This was revolutionary as the only prior occurrence of this was in 2018 when Adidas made a small limited collection of recycled plastic shirts. But for Nike to have every jersey that the players wear and the fans buy to be made of 100% recycled plastic bottles. Not only was this revolutionary, but the commemorative details added to each team's kit made each kit all the more unique to each team and fanbase.

I remember when these kits were released and it was groundbreaking, but didn’t receive enough headlines or praise from environmentalists and fans alike. Many individuals tend to disregard the composition of their team shirt, prioritizing their passion for the team over the sustainability aspects associated with the shirt. There are still many opportunities for fashion in sports to become more sustainable, including team fashion collections, shoes, and equipment.

This is extremely revolutionary and makes me hopeful for the future of sportswear, considering sportswear contains mostly