Puma scores replica kit recycling goal

Global sports company Puma is scaling up its pilot textile recycling innovation Re:Fibre to be used for almost all of the replica football kits it manufactures.

The pilot was launched in 2022 with Puma producing training jerseys from recycled plastic for its sponsored football clubs. The technology was also used to create replica kits for Switzerland and Morocco at the Women’s World Cup and the third kit for Girona, currently leading the men’s La Liga in Spain.

In 2024 official replica jerseys, including those for the Euro and Copa América tournaments, will be manufactured using materials made from old garments and factory scrap as well as plastic bottles.

Exceptions include replicas for Fenerbahçe, Shakhtar Donetsk and locally sourced kits.

The Re:Fibre process uses polyester material of any type and colour and allows new garments to be manufactured to any desired colour.

The four-step process involves:

• Collecting and sorting textile waste and other previously wasteful materials

• Shredding and mixing the collected materials down to the minimum

• Melting shredded polyester and removing dyes through polymerisation

• Newly produced polymers are spun and sewn into shape to create new fabric which can be recycled again and again

‘Our wish is to have 100% of product polyester coming from textile waste,’ says Anne-Laure Descours, chief sourcing officer at Puma.

‘Textile waste build-up in landfills is an environmental risk. Rethinking the way we produce and moving towards a more circular business model is one of the main priorities of our sustainability strategy.’