Football 🤝 Sustainable fashion
— West Ham United (@WestHam) March 18, 2024
To celebrate Global Recycling Day, we've partnered with @UnwantedFC to rework our historic 22/23 Home Kit into washbags that benefit the world 🌎
West Ham United and Unwanted FC have partnered to mark Global Recycling Day with a unique upcycled collaboration centred on football, fashion, and sustainability.
Working directly with an English Football Club for the first time, Unwanted FC was founded to give old kits a new life and were tasked to create a Claret and Blue-inspired upcycled product for Global Recycling Day.
Taking inspiration from ‘designer washbags’ used by the biggest stars in world football, Unwanted FC’s latest work saw the 2022/23 home kits turned into upcycled washbags – an increasingly iconic marker of the modern footballer’s matchday arrival.
Presented to men's midfielder Kalvin Phillips, women's team forward Princess Ademiluyi as well as members of the FA Youth Cup-winning U18s side from 2023 - Kaelan Casey, Lewis Orford, Patrick Kelly and Sean Tarima - the collaboration was designed to educate Hammers across men’s, women’s and Academy teams on the importance of sustainability as well as the ease and importance of upcycling in everyday life.
On the initiative, Phillips said: “It’s important to make the planet a better place and we need to teach generations younger than us to look after the world and be more sustainable.
“It’s really important this message we are sending to the young players at the Club and considering that it was made from last year’s home shirt, I think the washbag is really clever!
Ademiluyi agreed and added: “I am really surprised because I didn’t expect the washbag to look so good!
“They [Unwanted FC] have been creative and clever to use old clothes and make them into something else because it has come out well.
“There are a lot of ways we can collaborate between football and fashion but it’s great to see old kit being used to make something new.”
FA Youth Cup final goalscorer Casey was also pleased to be part of the initiative and explained: “Seeing the work that Unwanted FC do was inspiring.
“It has made me think more about the work I can do to help the environment as a footballer and was pleased to be involved in such an important activity.”
The collaboration with Unwanted FC marked Global Recycling Day – an initiative was launched in 2018 to help recognise, and celebrate, the importance circularity plays in securing the future of our planet.
Washbags are just one of the items created by Unwanted FC, who were thrilled to partner with West Ham United to raise awareness about sustainability and the importance and ease of upcycling within the football community and drive positive change.
Kevin Chan, co-founder and Director at Unwanted, aspires for more clubs to seize this opportunity to breathe new life into old season kits, mirroring the commendable example set by West Ham.
He said: “As the climate crisis continues, we as football fans need to shift our consumption behaviours and look at ways we as fans can help across the matchday and in everyday life.
“West Ham United is a global Club, with a huge fanbase, so we were pleased to partner and create this product from last season’s kit used by both West Ham’s UEFA Europa Conference League and FA Youth Cup winners in 2023.
“We think that the loyal fan base will be very accepting of our mission and challenge them to think about ways in which they can be more sustainable too!”
Outside of Global Recycling Day, West Ham United works with London Stadium throughout the year to ensure that the Club has a home ground that leads on sustainability.
Furthering its clean energy drive, the Stadium’s electricity is supplied from 100 per cent renewable sources, with a new workforce entrance building set to include 150 sqm of Solar panels.
The Stadium now has LED floodlights, reducing the carbon footprint since August 2021, and holds an excellent BREEAM standard. It is also promoted as a public transport venue (less than one in eight people or 12 per cent travel by car to watch matches) with all plastic straws, stirrers and plastic cutlery removed by caterers from their operation.
Likewise, 95 per cent of the Stadium's urinals are waterless, sinks have either sensor-activated taps or percussion cap taps and the majority of taps are fitted with water-saving devices.
More widely across the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, promoting biodiversity and conservation in urban spaces has been a key part of the area's transformation, with the park marking the tenth anniversary of the London Games in 2012 with a ninth straight Green Flag Award.
