Playmaking for the Planet

When Climate Pledge Arena opens this coming weekend, the movement to heal the planet will gain a fully operational example of how sports and entertainment venues can help eliminate carbon emissions and single-use plastics. It's nothing short of revolutionary in the sports industry, the Kraken playing in the world's first sustainable arena.

Donning the home blue jerseys for the first time Saturday during the team's inaugural home game brings its own revolutionary action. That's because the authentic Kraken players jerseys meet the "Primegreen" standard of adidas, the official uniform provider for the NHL.
Ninety-eight percent of the uniform is made from recycled materials. This is the first time all NHL teams will wear uniforms with Primegreen eco-friendly materials. It's fitting the rollout coincides with the Kraken's first season.
adidas officially designates the environmental breakthrough as "ADIZERO Primegreen" on jersey hang tags, plus adds a Primegreen End Plastic Waste mark on the back of the uniform. The hang tags on all on-ice jerseys (home, away, practice jerseys too) and those sold at the Kraken team stores. "End Plastic Waste" is adidas' commitment and campaign to end plastic waste through innovation and partnerships.
If the earthlings among us are stuck on "98 percent," be assured adidas is focused on 100 percent.
"Sustainability is one of our biggest priorities as a brand," says Nic Corbett, director of NHL relations for business and sports marketing at adidas. "Our goal to completely phase out the use of virgin polyesters by 2024.
"The Kraken jersey, and all adidas NHL jerseys, will made from [100 percent] recycled materials. This is really exciting because we are maintaining the attributes of the Adizero authentic NHL jersey, which is the lightest, coolest and strongest jersey in the sport."

adidas' deep commitment to eliminate virgin polyesters across its shoe and apparel categories is based on a belief the world's plastic waste problem is too urgent to ignore. The company has explored how its products can be made with recycled, recyclable and "return to nature" materials.
The Primegreen jerseys represent a highly visible way to show off the performance and, certainly in the Kraken's case, cool design while using 98 percent recycled materials. Not to be overlooked is adidas, the Kraken and the NHL are applying the same standards to the hundreds upon hundreds of practices the team will cycle through over the hockey seasons.
Not all fans go out of their way to shop for apparel that uses sustainable fibers, but adidas and the National Hockey League going all-in on preventing more plastics in our oceans and bodies of water is more than a few skate strides in the right direction.
The Kraken have looked competitive and NHL-ready in the season's first three games, all one-goal affairs, earning three standings points out of a possible six. The players themselves give an enthusiastic thumbs-up to the uniform look - and so do fans by all accounts.
"You would be hard-pressed to find a city in the world more connected to mountains, the scale of rock, the expansive waters," said Matty Merrill, adidas design director for hockey and a PNW native himself. "Seattle as one of the launch vehicles for our Primegreen jerseys coming out is perfect."