NEW YORK, NY – Major League Soccer and adidas are once again raising awareness and inspiring action surrounding the impact of marine plastic waste by featuring customized Primeblue uniforms made from a high-performance recycled material and Parley Ocean Plastic™. The jerseys will be worn on field by MLS clubs May 27-29.
Vancouver Whitecaps FC will wear their Primeblue jerseys this Saturday, May 28 as they face Sporting Kansas City at Children's Mercy Park (6 p.m. PT on TSN and AM730). The jerseys are available for purchase at whitecapsfc.com/shop.
Committed to taking steps to address its environmental impact, MLS and adidas’ teamed up to create Primeblue jerseys which are made from plastics intercepted from beaches, coastal communities, and shorelines, preventing them from polluting the ocean. Once collected, the original plastic source is reworked into technical fibers that can then be repurposed for use in either apparel or footwear. The high-performance yarn features more than 50% Parley Ocean Plastic™ on each jersey.
“Major League Soccer is committed to reducing our carbon footprint and raising awareness about environmental issues, including plastic waste on land and in water,” said JoAnn Neale, MLS’ President and Chief Administrative Officer. “We are thrilled to have an innovative partner like adidas that enables our clubs to sport kits that inspire the soccer community to join together to preserve our ocean and create a cleaner world.”
MLS also teamed up with We Are Social New York, a global socially-led creative agency, to develop content that sheds light on the effects of plastic waste in our oceans. Photographer Eric White brought a crew together to participate in a cleanup at Great Kills beach in Staten Island while showcasing the Primeblue jerseys. The event highlighted how even a small group can take big steps towards creating a more sustainable future. Visit MLSsoccer.com to view the content.
In addition to Primeblue jerseys being worn on field by clubs throughout the weekend’s matches, many MLS clubs have made efforts in their local communities to create sustainable projects and educate people on the harmful impact of marine plastic pollution. From beach clean ups to plastic waste campaigns, the activations build off MLS WORKS’ Greener Goals initiative which raises awareness about environmental issues in the soccer community. MLS WORKS is the League’s social responsibility platform.
Earlier this year, select MLS clubs and adidas teamed up on a sustainability initiative to help keep plastic waste out of landfills. As part of the program, nine games were hosted where fans were given a reusable tote and a separate mailer to take home and fill with donations to send to the adidas Give Back program. The Give Back program accepts gently used clothes and shoes from any brand and rewards participants with adiClub points and vouchers to use on adidas.com. In addition to these 9 games, the Colorado Rapids hosted a Sustainability game on April 23 where they collected over 2,000 gently used items from fans. These items were donated to local charities.
For more information, visit MLSsoccer.com.
