Even millionaire ballers recycle. Or, at least, they will wear uniforms featuring recycled PET.
Making polyester fiber from used PET bottles is nothing new. But it's new to the National Basketball Association for this upcoming season.
The league, which is changing uniform suppliers from Adidas to Nike, says each uniform will include fiber made from 20 recycled bottles.
In making the announcement, the NBA said the new uniforms will feature design changes, the most significant being to the back shoulder of the uniform that will provide an improved fit. Hemlines on both jerseys and shorts also were altered to improve players' range of motion, Nike said.
"The uniform is comprised of a combination of Alpha Yarns and recycled polyester (each athlete uniform represents approximately 20 recycled PET bottles). Not only does this yarn blend match Nike's broad commitment to sustainability, it also removes moisture more quickly than previous NBA uniforms, wicking sweat 30 percent faster than current NBA uniforms," Nike reported.
The NBA also is doing away with the concept of home and away uniforms. Instead, the home team will select a uniform and visiting teams will select a contrasting uniform. Nike has developed what it calls four core uniforms for each team.
Nike reports that 71 percent of its footwear and apparel contains recycled materials. The company has diverted more than 3 billion plastic bottles from landfill disposal since 2010.