adidas and Major League Soccer have joined forces with the 'Parley for the Oceans' campaign by introducing the first MLS club jerseys made from recycled plastic from the ocean. LA Galaxy, New York City, Orlando City and Seattle Sounders will all wear the special edition shirts this weekend.
Parley for the Oceans and adidas have already been busy this season in football, most notably designing shirts for both Bayern Munich and Real Madrid to wear in November 2016, and now they've turned their attentions to the USA.
All four MLS white and grey jerseys feature alternative colourway details and are crafted from Parley Ocean Plastic up-cycled from marine plastic intercepted by Parley clean-up operations in coastal areas of the Maldives. Once collected, the original plastic source is reworked into technical fibers that can then be repurposed for use in either apparel or footwear.
“We are very proud to be working with a new partner in MLS and its participating teams to enforce the usage, messaging and awareness around the beauty and fragility of the Oceans,” said Michael Batz, adidas Vice President of Product, Global Brands, Soccer. “Our core brand belief is that through sport, we have the power to change lives and feel that MLS is an ideal partner to transport and establish this belief in soccer – connecting a global sport with meaningful desire to preserve the environment. It will be the first step to explore and expand future opportunities.”
All four special edition jerseys will be seen on-pitch on Sunday, April 23rd when New York City FC host Orlando City at Yankee Stadium, and LA Galaxy welcome reigning MLS Cup champions Seattle Sounders FC to the StubHub Center. Not sure how they're planning on avoiding the obvious kites clash just yet... but a very worthy project indeed. Still, can we all stop throwing sh*t in the sea, yeah?
