Real Madrid Sports New Kit made with Recycled Plastic

Spanish club Real Madrid CF has been called the most successful football club of all time, with a distinguished 116-year history and an estimated worth of $4.1 billion. Now the club is throwing its weight behind saving the environment - by choosing a revolutionary new kit made out of recycled plastic.

The kit was created by Adidas, in conjunction with Parley for the Oceans - an environmental organisation. Manufactured from plastic salvaged from the ocean, it has been designed as part of Adidas's continuing collaboration with Parley for the Oceans to highlight the problems of plastic pollution in the world's seas.

Designed for the 2018/19 La Liga season, Real Madrid's third kit is an unusual coral colour - a reference to the ocean and the beauty of the various shades of coral found in the sea that we must protect. The club kicked off its league season on 19th August with a 2-0 home win against Getafe CF at the Bernabéu Stadium.

Pilot scheme

Real Madrid CF first wore a one-off, recycled, eco-friendly kit made from plastic waste gathered from the Indian Ocean when they played Sporting Gijon back in November 2016. Cristiano Ronaldo, wearing his recycled shirt, netted two goals in Real Madrid's 2-1 victory over their opponents at the time.

It was reported that each shirt (manufactured by Parley for the Oceans) was made of 28 recycled bottles. Making the kit took a total of 308 bottles for the starting line-up of 11 players. The one-off kit was available for fans to buy on Real Madrid's website in 2016 for £60.

At the time, left-back Marcelo revealed he was a staunch supporter of the recycled kit project because he loved the ocean, having grown up in Rio de Janeiro where he played football on the beach as a child.

Parley launched its initiative in response to claims that since 1950, the world has produced six billion tonnes of plastic - enough to cover the whole planet with a plastic blanket.

Latest kit

Adopting a recycled plastic kit as the club's third strip in 2018 represents a big step forward in Real Madrid's support for environmental schemes.

Adidas has collaborated with Parley for the Oceans for three years, first unveiling a pair of training shoes in 2015 that were manufactured from recycled ocean waste. In 2017, Adidas reworked a classic 1990s sports shoe into a design made with recycled plastic collected from the sea.

The iconic sportswear brand has announced its goal is to be using recycled plastic by 2024 in all of its products. Adidas bosses are delighted a legendary global brand such as Real Madrid CF is supporting its initiative to raise public awareness of ocean pollution.

With the club's massive following across the world, it has the power to amplify Parley for the Oceans' message and prompt others to follow its lead in supporting eco-friendly schemes.

Kit launch

Real Madrid stars Gareth Bale and Karim Benzema first modelled the new shirts at a pre-season launch event in New York. They first wore it for a match during their 2-1 victory over Roma in the International Champions Cup on 8th August, when goals from Bale and Marco Asensio assured their victory.

Portuguese player Ronaldo, widely regarded as one of the best footballers in world history, who played for Real Madrid when they were 2017 league champions, will sadly miss wearing the recycled plastic kit this time around, having just signed for Italian club Juventus during the summer transfer window.

Responsible practices

Solent Plastics fully supports responsible recycling, providing a wide range of relevant products and working to eco-friendly practices that help ensure our planet's future survival.

As an environmentally-conscious company, we sell a large range of Euronorm ECO recycled plastic Euro containers. Manufactured from recycled polypropylene, they are suitable for commercial, industrial and home use.

We also supply a range of recycling waste bins to help businesses, schools and other organisations with their own recycling initiatives. Please contact us for further details.