RECYCLED BOTTLES HELP ASIAN TEAMS GO GREEN AT FIFA WORLD CUP

Indeed, thanks to modern technology, there is a genuine link – one that ensures that these teams will have the most green and environmentally friendly jerseys in the tournament, as well as in the history of the World Cup.

For the first time, all of Nike’s national teams, including Australia and Korea Republic, will be wearing jerseys made entirely from recycled polyester, each one produced from up to eight recycled plastic bottles.

“To make the 2010 national team kits, Nike’s fabric suppliers sourced discarded plastic bottles from Japanese and Taiwanese landfill sites and then melted them down to produce new yarn that was ultimately converted to fabric for the jerseys,” a Nike statement said.

“This process saves raw materials and reduces energy consumption by up to 30 per cent compared to manufacturing virgin polyester.

According to the company, using recycled polyester prevented nearly 13 million plastic bottles, totaling nearly 254,000 kilograms of polyester waste, from going into landfill sites.

This would be enough to cover more than 29 football pitches, it said.

If the recycled bottles used to make the jerseys were laid end to end, they would cover more than 3,000 kilometres, which is more than the entire coastline of South Africa.

A single jersey is also 15% lighter than what was worn in the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany.