RE:JERSEY – PUMA trials Garment-to-Garment Recycling in
Circularity Project, using old Football Kits to produce new ones
Cape Town, South Africa, 23 March, 2022 — Sports company PUMA will pilot an innovative
production process to use existing football jerseys to produce new ones. This initiative is aimed
at reducing waste and paving the way towards more circular production models in the future.
The process used in RE:JERSEY means that old garments that feature logos, embroideries and
club badges, which previously hindered recycling efforts to turn old garments into new ones, can
now be used. The RE:JERSEY project takes football kits as the major ingredient to create yarn
for new jerseys.
In the recycling process used for the RE:JERSEY project, the garments are chemically broken
down into their 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.
While PUMA’s football kits on the market today are already made from 100% recycled
polyester, RE:JERSEY kits are made with 75% repurposed football jerseys. The remaining 25%
comes from SEAQUAL ® MARINE PLASTIC 1 .
“With the RE:JERSEY project, we wanted to develop ways to reduce our environmental impact,
respect resources and reuse materials,” said Howard Williams, Director Apparel Technology at
PUMA. “The insights we gained with RE:JERSEY will help us develop more circular products in
the future."
The products made in the RE:JERSEY project will be worn on-pitch during pre-match warm-ups
by PUMA Clubs Manchester City, AC Milan, Borussia Dortmund and Olympique de Marseille.
The teams will wear the jerseys ahead of their respective league fixtures in late April and May,
starting with Manchester City against Watford on April 23.
The RE:JERSEY pilot experiment is part of PUMA’s Circular Lab and its Forever Better
sustainability platform. As part of Circular Lab, PUMA announced the RE:SUEDE program last
year, which tests, whether the company can make a biodegradable version of its iconic SUEDE
sneaker.
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