Leading sports brand Puma, headquartered in Erzogenaurach, Germany, has been piloting a new recycling process for used football tops.

The Re:Jersey process allows old garments that feature logos, embroideries and club badges which previously hindered recycling efforts to be turned into new yarns.

The garments are chemically broken down into their main components by a depolymerization process and the colours are then filtered out before the material is chemically repolymerized into polyester yarns that have the same performance characteristics as virgin polyester.

While Puma football kits on the market today are already made from 100% recycled polyester, the new Re:Jersey kits are made with 75% repurposed football tops reinforced with 25% Seaqual marine plastic.

“With the Re:Jersey project, we wanted to develop ways to reduce our environmental impact, respect resources and reuse materials,” said Howard Williams, director of apparel technology at Puma. “The insights we have gained will help us develop more circular products in the future.”

The products made in the Re:Jersey project will be worn 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 is testing whether the company can make a biodegradable version of its Suede sneaker.

www.puma.com