PUMA replaces recycled plastic bottles with textile waste for replica jerseys manufacture
PUMA announced the scale-up of its textile recycling innovation – RE:FIBRE, replacing recycled polyester with RE:FIBRE technology in all PUMA football Club and Federation replica jerseys from 2024 onwards.
Launched in 2022, the RE:FIBRE process uses any polyester material – from factory offcuts, faulty goods to pre-loved clothes which allows new garments to be recycled from any color textile to any color desired.
PUMA scaled up its RE:FIBRE technology to recycle polyester for producing replica jerseys.
The four-step process of RE:FIBRE include:
Collect and sort: Collecting and sorting textile waste and other wasteful materials.
Shred and mix: Shredding and mixing the collected materials down to the minimum.
Dissolve, filter and polymerize: Melting down the shredded polyester and ridding them of previous dyes through a chemical recycling process.
Melt, spin, knit and sew: The melting allows the newly produced polymers to become ready to be spun and sewn into shape to create RE:FIBRE fabric.
In 2024, official PUMA football replica jerseys, including those for the Euro and Copa América tournaments, will be manufactured using RE:FIBRE recycled materials that were made of old garments and factory waste, rather than only recycled plastic bottles.
The company’s plan is to have 100% of product polyester coming from textile waste. “Rethinking the way we produce and moving towards a more circular business model is one of the main priorities of our sustainability strategy,” commented Anne-Laure Descours, Chief Sourcing Officer.
