Sounders join Bayern Munich, Real Madrid in wearing ocean-plastic kits

In 2017 the Seattle Sounders will wear four different jerseys. For Sunday’s game against the LA Galaxy they will don a grey uniform made from plastic recovered from the ocean. Adidas and MLS worked together on the project featuring the material the company calls Parley Ocean Plastic. Seattle, LA, Orlando City SC and New York City FC will all be wearing the new uniform.

The Parley Ocean Plastic kit joins Rave Green, Heritage White and Pacific Blue, but it is a one-off gameday kit. This is the first time that US clubs have worn the Parley kits. Like the kits previously worn by Bayern Munich and Real Madrid, what makes these different is that they are manufactured from plastic recovered from the ocean off the Maldives.

According to the press release:

The new MLS white and grey jerseys feature alternative colorway details and are crafted from Parley Ocean Plastic upcycled from marine plastic intercepted by Parley clean-up operations in coastal areas of the Maldives.  Once collected, the original plastic source is reworked into technical fibers that can then be repurposed for use in either apparel or footwear – and in this instance, the jerseys worn by MLS clubs. To commemorate this unique process of repurposing marine plastic debris, the message "For the Oceans" is featured on the back-neck tape detailing, found inside each jersey.

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• Sounders v Galaxy in Parley Ocean kit adidas

After communicating with adidas, they clarified that the kit release photo shows shadowing and diminishes the difference in color between LA’s white and Seattle’s grey. The Sounders top also features some of their blue.

Update: You can see the Galaxy white in their tweet.

It’s nifty that a team named after the people of the Sound and a third kit named after the ocean would be part of this project. Of course, their selection for this project is more likely due to being one of the top selling teams in the league (the four teams participating are all in the top half, maybe top quarter).