Chemical Recycling: How Nike Made World Cup Kits from Waste

Nike has announced football kits made of 100% textile waste for the 2026 World Cup.

Using advanced chemical recycling, the company says these kits are "light, unrestrictive and comfortable" with its Aero-FIT technology, alongside setting new sustainability standards. 

Janett Nichol, VP, Apparel & Advanced Digital Creation Studio Innovation at Nike, says: “Nike exists to make athletes better and our breakthrough Aero-FIT technology delivers the future of our industry-defining apparel innovation in both elite performance and sustainability at scale.”

Advanced chemical recycling

Traditional mechanical recycling has a major flaw. Every time plastic or polyester fibres are melt and re-spun, the polymer chains break down and shorten.

Once the material degrades, it becomes too weak for clothing and particularly elite athletic wear. 

Chemical recycling solves this problem, using solvents, heat and chemical agents to break textile waste down at the molecular level. 

This reverts polyester back into monomers and makes it physically indistinguishable from virgin, petroleum-derived polyester.

For Nike's 2026 kits, this virgin-equivalent yarn is what allows it to use highly complex, stitch-specific computational knitting for its Aero-FIT technology.

Instead of buying bales of discarded PET bottles, Nike has sourced end-of-life garments and factory floor textile scraps. 

These are then sorted, shredded into smaller pieces and stripped of non-polyester components like zippers and buttons. 

The shredded waste is then introduced into a reactor with specific chemical catalysts. 

While in this liquid state, impurities like colorants and chemical finishes can be filtered out and intertwined materials are separated and removed. 

Pure monomers are then combined and synthesised back into polymer chains, and turned into yarn. 

Nike says it is “setting a new standard for national team kit design: merging pinnacle cooling innovation with time-honoured tradition and bold visions for the future”.

Janett adds: “We’re incredibly proud that our jerseys worn next summer will feel light, unrestrictive and comfortable for an entire match.

“That’s the kind of comfort that helps an athlete stay completely focused on the competition for 90-plus minutes.”

Nike's Aero-FIT technology

Nike's Aero-FIT performance cooling technology will debut at the 2026 World Cup before being rolled out across its products.

It uses computational design and a specialised, stitch-specific knitting process to help athletes stay cool in extreme conditions.

This requires yarn capable of extreme stretching, moisture wicking and durability.

These kits are Nike's first elite performance clothing made from 100% textile waste. 

Venkatesh Alagirisamy, Nike EVP and COO, says: “This is breakthrough innovation in service of athletes, proving that high performance and circularity can move forward together without compromise.”

He adds: “From rising temperatures to tougher playing conditions, athletes challenged us to rethink what’s possible.

“Huge appreciation for the Nike teammates and partners whose resilience, creativity and commitment brought this to life.”