Plastic Fantastic Cambridge

Cambridge Zero's Elizabeth Simpson and Dr Amy Munro-Faure (centre) pose with L-R CUAFC Women's Co-President Alissa Sattentau (King's College, HSPS), Women's Treasurer Ella O'Connnell (King's College, Engineering), Men's Treasurer Ross Harrison (Pembroke College, HSPS) Credit - Ben Chattell

Vice-Chancellor Professor Deborah Prentice (centre) poses with L-R CUAFC's Ross Harrison, Men's Blues Captain Cai La Trobe Roberts (Jesus, Economics), Women's Blues Co-Captain Emilia Keavney (Homerton, Engineering), Women's Blues Co-Captain Abbie Hastie (Emmanuel, History)

Vice-Chancellor Deborah Prentice (centre) poses with CUAFC players and Cambridge Zero L-R, Elizabeth Simpson, CUAFC's Ella O'Connell, Women's Co-President Alexia Dengler (Gonville & Caius, Law), Emilia Keavney, Abbie Hastie, Matt Page, Amy Munro-Faure (Cambridge Zero) Credit - Ben Chattell

The men’s and women’s squads take the pitch at The Cledara Abbey Stadium for the 150th anniversary of the Varsity football match in kit made from more than 2,000 plastic bottles.

Cambridge University Association Football Club (CUAFC) will wear a design that copies the match kit from their 1905 Varsity fixture with Oxford. But the shirts, socks and shorts for the 39th Women’s Varsity Match and the 139th Men’s Varsity Match in Cambridge on Friday 15th March are a modern marvel of recycling innovation.

This year's kit is made from OEKO-TEX certified recycled yarn, which is produced by recycling used plastic bottles. That cuts waste, saves on energy and fossil fuel use and reduces pollution. The kit is sponsored by the University's climate change initiative Cambridge Zero and Cambridge-based technology firm RealVNC.

Ahead of the match Cambridge Zero's Head of Student Engagement Dr Amy Munro-Faure and Student Engagement Coordinator Elizabeth Simpson joined CUAFC captains, presidents and treasurers to present Vice-Chancellor Professor Deborah Prentice with a signed 150th anniversary game jersey.

"This shirt is a symbol of the real determination we all have at Cambridge to tackle climate change on every front," Professor Prentice said. "Good luck to the teams on Friday."

Cambridge Zero Student Engagement Coordinator Elizabeth Simpson said funding for the kit came after the team applied to Cambridge Zero's Student Societies Climate Fund for sponsorship.

"The design of yesteryear, made with today's technology to help secure a sustainable future?" Simpson said.

"That's an irresistible request."

Around the world, one million plastic bottles are purchased every minute, while up to five trillion plastic bags are used worldwide every year. In total, half of all plastic produced is designed for single-use purposes – used just once and then thrown away.

Today, we produce about 400 million tonnes of plastic waste every year.

CUAFC Treasurer Ross Harrison said Varsity players wanted match-day kit modelled on 1905, but which demonstrated that we can turn around the trend in pollution that has become the legacy of the last 150 years.

"It's a shirt that pays homage to Cambridge's esteemed footballing history and recognises the need for new innovative solutions for cutting plastic waste."

At the Varsity matches, CUAFC are wearing the equivalent of more than 2,000 plastic half-litre bottles, approximately 30 bottles per player.

Football's world body FIFA estimates there are more than 200 million players on the planet and billions of supporters.

Women's Blues Co-Captain Abbie Hastie said the idea that just football and its supporters alone could cut billions of tonnes of plastic waste across the planet with their choice of a bit of kit was inspiring.

"Saving the planet is the biggest goal any athlete could score."

To produce the kits, post-consumer PET plastic bottles are first shredded into small pieces in a recycling plant and cleaned. The parts are melted and the resulting mass is pressed into the desired shape by extrusion. From this the yarn is produced and further processed into fabric which is used to make clothing. The result: Kits made entirely from plastic bottles.

The shirts, socks and shorts have been developed by Appareal, a Swiss-based company whose mission is to provide sustainable clothing from recycled sources. It was co-founded six years ago by Andy Wright, who is studying for a Masters in Crime and Thriller writing at Selwyn College.

Having read the College’s Sustainability Charter, Wright saw an opportunity to expand it through the use of sustainable sports clothing.

"Across the sporting industry, you can see a surge of investment in more responsible products to meet corporate strategic commitments, at the demands of stakeholders,” Wright said. “If the oldest football club in the world is putting its best foot forward, there’s hope for us all.”

Recycling one ton of PET waste saves 3.8 barrels of oil, with 86% less water consumption and 75% less energy consumption than conventional PET manufacturing, Wright says.

The men's and women's Varsity matches against Oxford University will take place at home in Cambridge on the 15th of March at the Abbey Stadium, Home to Cambridge United FC. Tickets can be bought on the Cambridge United website.

Published 13 March 2024

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Cambridge Zero is the University of Cambridge’s ambitious climate change initiative, harnessing the power of research to tackle climate change at one of the top global research universities in the world.