Championship side Reading have unveiled their new home kit for the 2022-23 season with the aim of raising awareness about the climate emergency. The club recently announced a partnership with the University of Reading with the aim of starting a discussion about climate change and inspiring action to fight it.
Reading have taken another step to promote the issue with the fabric and design of their shirts for the new campaign, which includes stripes representing rising temperatures.
What have Reading said about the new kit?
Reading's new kit is made entirely out of recycled plastic bottles and the strip itself can be recycled.
The club have explained the motivation behind the new strip, saying: "We can’t do everything, but we can’t do nothing. And by incorporating the university’s ‘climate stripes’ infographic into the design of our new home shirt, we hope to help visually demonstrate to our supporters how temperatures have risen over a long period of time in Reading.
"The bold stripe design, which features on the sleeves of the new home shirt, was first created by the University of Reading’s Professor Ed Hawkins in 2018.
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"Each stripe represents the average temperature for a single year, relative to the average temperature over the period as a whole; shades of blue indicate cooler-than-average years, while red shows years that were hotter than average.
"And the stripes on the home shirt specifically track climate change in Reading across the full 151-year existence of Reading Football Club.
"The shirt itself is made from Eco-Fabric – 100% of which comes from recycled plastic bottles! That innovation is part of a wider series of initiatives undertaken by our Official Technical Partner as part of their ‘Macron 4 The Planet’ campaign, which is committed to introducing new eco-sustainable products to the market."
Reading bringing climate change 'to a new audience'
University of Reading professor Hawkins added that the club aims to promote the science behind the fight against climate change, saying: "The climate stripes are intended to start conversations about climate change - and making them visible to thousands of football fans across the country every week brings that to a new audience.
"Support is a powerful thing in football and this collaboration makes it a key theme for the season. We hope Reading Football Club’s fans will push them on to success this season, while at the same time the players and the club will be supporting climate action and recognising the science."