Manchester City Men’s and Women’s teams have come together to support an innovative new sustainability campaign launched by club partner, PUMA.
Pep Guardiola’s men wore special PUMA jerseys ahead of their 5-1 thrashing of Watford at the Etihad, while Gareth Tayor’s women’s team wore them ahead of their emphatic 4-0 victory over Everton at the City Football Academy.
The tops on display marked a new era in the fight against waste and were made using repurposed football jerseys as part of PUMA’s innovative recycling project RE:JERSEY.
The RE:JERSEY project aims to reduce waste and pave the way towards more recycled production models in the future. While PUMA’s football kits on the market today are already made from 100% recycled polyester, the RE:JERSEY shirt worn ahead of Saturday’s game are made with 75% repurposed football jerseys . The remaining 25% comes from SEAQUAL ® MARINE PLASTIC [1].
PUMA is calling all blues for their help to support the campaign and have set up special collection bins at the Etihad Stadium City Store - to invite fans to donate their old polyester items so they can become a part of this garment-to-garment recycling project. The club will also set up take-back bins in other parts of the Etihad Campus.
It couldn’t be easier to take part, as the recycling process used for the RE:JERSEY project, even allows old garments that feature logos, embroideries and club badges to be used, as the material is chemically broken down into its main components (depolymerization).
Colours are then filtered out and the material is chemically put back together to create a yarn (repolymerization) that has the same performance characteristics as virgin polyester.
Take your old shirts back to the Manchester City Club Store. We will handle the rest of the process.
We accept all apparel brands as long as the garment is freshly washed and made of 100% polyester.
We are sorry, but we do not accept underwear, socks, footwear or swimwear.
While you are watching the game, PUMA´s partner sorts the old garments according to different quality criteria.
The garments are then shipped to the partner factory, where they are recycled to create a new yarn.
PUMA uses the recycled yarn from old garments and SEAQUAL ® MARINE PLASTIC to create a new jersey that has the same performance characteristics as virgin polyester.
Designing a fully recyclable product means we aim to keep it in the circle. And that means less waste. Thanks for your contribution.
We are sorry, but we do not accept underwear, socks, footwear or swimwear.
What makes the RE:JERSEY different from any other PUMA Jersey? The main difference is that most of the raw material used for the RE:JERSEY is recycled from existing polyester garments, allowing for garment-to-garment recycling. This technology is a big step towards closing the material loop on polyester.
Is the RE:JERSEY fully made with garment-to-garment recycled materials? The RE:JERSEY kits worn during Saturday’s warm-up are made with 75% repurposed football jerseys. The remaining 25% comes from SEAQUAL ® MARINE PLASTIC
How does the recycling process differ from the recycled polyester used in other PUMA Jerseys? PUMA’s football kits on the market today are already made from 100% recycled polyester. The company has set an ambitious target of 75% recycled polyester until 2025 for the entire apparel and accessories ranges.
Typically, PUMA´s recycled polyester products are made from recycled plastic bottles. Plastic bottles can be mechanically recycled into new polyester. While not circular in the classical sense, this type of recycling helps reduce the littering of plastic bottles. In addition, mechanically recycled polyester has a considerably lower carbon footprint compared to conventional polyester.
In the recycling process used for the RE:JERSEY project, the garments are chemically broken down into their main components (depolymerization). Colors are then filtered out, and the material is chemically put back together to create a yarn (repolymerization) that has the same performance characteristics as virgin polyester.
How does the recycling process differ from other chemically recycled polyesters? The innovative process used for our RE:JERSEY can deal with contaminations such as prints or emblems. Furthermore, the process is run in Europe, close to the home of PUMA´s football teams.
What are PUMA´s targets on recycled polyester? PUMA plans to increase the content of recycled polyester in Apparel and Accessories from 17% in 2020 to 75% in 2025.
In addition, PUMA plans to increase the percentage of chemically recycled polyester over time to enhance garment-to-garment recycling and reduce our dependency on recycled plastic bottles.
What will be the learnings from the RE:JERSEY project? The RE:JERSEY project will allow us to collect valuable experiences on garment-to-garment recycling. If successful, PUMA aims to replicate the process at a larger scale including their retail channels, and potentially wholesale partners.
How does the chemically recycled polyester impact the greenhouse gas emissions from the production of the jersey? The fact that oil as a fossil feedstock is replaced by existing garments is the main benefit of chemically recycled polyester, which can be recycled again and again without a loss of quality. Chemically recycled polyester also generates reduced CO2 emissions compared to virgin polyester.
What is PUMA´s position on recycling plastic bottles? Typically, PUMA´s recycled polyester products are made from recycled plastic bottles. Plastic bottles can be mechanically recycled into new polyester. While not circular in the classical sense, this type of recycling helps reduce the littering of plastic bottles. In addition, mechanically recycled polyester has a lower carbon footprint compared to conventional polyester.
Is this program only valid for PUMA products? No. Products from any brand can be handed in as long as they`re made of 100% polyester. We do not accept underwear, socks (for hygiene reasons), footwear, swimwear and accessories.
What if the garment is dirty? We ask you to hand in only dry and clean garments.
What if the garment is torn? This is no problem. While this garment cannot be worn anymore by other people, the raw material can still be recycled.
Where is the take-back program active? Planned collection points during the pilot program are the main Club stores of Manchester City, AC Milan, BVB, Olympique Marseille, Girona, and the PUMA retail store in Herzogenaurach.
What does PUMA do with the take-back products? Collected products are shipped to an external partner who sorts the products according to different quality criteria. One large sorting facility is in Wolfen (Germany). https://www.ico-spirit.com/en/ We can only recycle garments as long as they´re 100% polyester. Products not made of 100% polyester will be reused or recycled into secondary raw material and become feedstock for new products in various industries.
Does this program compete with charity donations of used clothes? No. This program aims to raise awareness of what happens to products at the end of their lifecycle, reduce waste, and pave the way for a more circular production model.
[1] SEAQUAL ® MARINE PLASTIC SEAQUAL® MARINE PLASTIC is a sustainable and fully traceable raw material from SEAQUAL INITIATIVE that is made from marine litter, or in some cases from end-of-life fishing nets or other plastics used in aquaculture (such as those used in mussel and oyster farming). For more information, visit https://www.seaqual.org.
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