Trek-Segafredo's 2020 cycling jerseys, which were unveiled at the Rouleur Classic in London in October, will use recycled fabrics to help lessen their environmental impact, the team and its kit supplier, Santini, have announced.
Both the men's and women's pro teams will wear jerseys that use a high-performance fabric on the sleeves and backs that's made from recycled plastic bottles, while both teams' new kit was being handed over to the riders at their training camp in Syracuse, Sicily, this week without any of the plastic bags that each item would normally be packed into, saving what would otherwise be an estimated 12,000 plastic bags throughout the 2020 season.
"I'm really proud to tell people our kit includes recycled fabric," Tayler Wiles of the Trek-Segafredo women's team said in a press release. "Being environmentally conscious is really critical right now. Climate change is a very real thing. We should do anything we can to be more proactive in every aspect of our lives.
"Even five years ago, people weren't aware of the waste created through the apparel world," she continued. "The clothes you wear on the bike are just as important as the ones you wear off the bike. It's important you know where those products come from, and that they are made sustainably and of good quality material that lasts longer."
Santini marketing director Paola Santini said that the time had come for them to start incorporating recycled materials into their cycling kits, and while the material made from plastic bottles will be used on the sections of jerseys that need to be most aerodynamic, the front, sides and pockets of the jerseys will be made of a fabric called eco-bicimania, made by a company called Sitip, which uses recycled polyester and elastane.
"Our suppliers have been doing these kinds of recycled fabrics for a few years. Now, they've got to a point where recycled fabric is as technical and performance-oriented as non-recycled materials," said Santini.
"It's nice that Santini is thinking about reducing plastic packaging," added Richie Porte, who's set to lead the men's Trek-Segafredo team at this year's Tour de France.
"The world is becoming more aware of how we use plastic, and how to minimise our footprint. Any little thing we can do in the cycling world, we should," he said.
