Reading FC, a British soccer club, have revealed their new kit, complete with sleeves representing the effects of climate change on the local area.
The soccer team, whose home kit features their usual blue and white hoops across the shirt, now includes a multi-coloured pattern of red and blue across the sleeves, marking the temperature increase since the club was founded in 1871, just over 150 years ago.
The new kit is part of a “progressive partnership” with the local University of Reading, and is designed to “help start conversations around the climate crisis and ultimately inspire action.” Each of the stripes represent the average temperature for one year, which is “relative to the average temperature over the period as a whole.”
We’re proud to unveil our 2022-23 @MacronSports home kit. Alongside the classic blue and white hoops this season, sit stripes!
We can’t do everything, but we can’t do nothing. Let @UniofReading warming stripes start your climate conversation!#ShowYourStripes #HoopsForTheFuture
— Reading FC (@ReadingFC) July 25, 2022
Red stripes represent years that were warmer than average, while blue shows years that were cooler than average in Berkshire, the county in which Reading is situated. “We can’t do everything, but we can’t do nothing,” the club said in a statement.
“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,” said Professor Ed Hawkins, who first designed the stripes in 2018.
Reading's new home shirt is, let's face it, pretty jarring to look at. There's a method behind the madness of the sleeves though.
The lines represent average temperatures for Berkshire across the club's history, in an effort to highlight the effects of climate change. pic.twitter.com/IdqP2GDBZe
— Phil Delves (@phildelves) July 25, 2022
“Support is a powerful thing in football and this collaboration makes it a key theme for the season,” Hawkins added. “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.”
Tim Kilpatrick, the head of commercial activities at the soccer club, argued that because of the record heatwave since last week in the UK, it was now “vital” to “spark a conversation about climate change.”
Other areas where the stripes have been seen include the main stage at the local Reading Festival, one of the biggest music festivals in the country, London Fashion Week, and on the front cover of an upcoming book by climate change activist Greta Thunberg.
