WATCH: ‘World’s greenest football club’ unveils new kit and climate campaign
Forest Green Rovers have revealed a design overhaul for matchday and training strips.
The Gloucestershire team’s new playing shirts feature a sewn design based on the infamous ‘warming stripes’ developed by environmental scientist Professor Ed Hawkins, and his team at the University of Reading.
The stripes illustrate the rise in global temperature since 1850.
Meanwhile, the updated training kit features biodiversity stripes, representing the loss of wildlife since 1970. These were developed by Professor Miles Richardson at the University of Derby. The new designs are part of the national #showyourstripes campaign, raising awareness about the climate crisis and nature decline.
‘This is another fantastic kit. We’ve taken big strides to bring sustainability into every facet of what we do as a club,’ said Forest Green Rovers Chairman, Dale Vance. ‘Continuing to find ways to raise awareness of the Climate Crisis is in our DNA and we’re chuffed to join the #showyourstripes campaign.’
Forest Green Rovers have been referred to as the world’s greenest football club, with owner Vance also the British industrialist behind renewables giant Ecotricity. The team’s stadium runs on solar power, and its pitch is maintained with sustainable and eco-friendly processes and products, including seaweed based feed.
In 2019, outline planning permission was approved for a proposed new stadium near Junction 13 of the M5. If built, the 5,000 capacity facility will be built from environmentally-friendly, sustainable timber stock. Original plans were rejected due to concerns over the impact of noise, traffic, and the surrounding landscape, with a modified blueprint then greenlit by Stroud District Council.
You can watch a video about the club’s climate credentials below:
More on climate change and net zero:
Image: Forest Green Rovers