Team Sky is aiming to raise awareness of the marine litter problem with a new kit design for the upcoming Tour de France cycle race, taking place 7-29 July. The move is part of broadcasting parent company Sky’s Ocean Rescue campaign.
Featuring orcas on the back of the jersey, the team is hoping to inspire people involved in cycling and beyond “to make simple, everyday changes” to help tackle the plastic pollution challenge. The jerseys are manufactured from ocean plastic materials.
“Today, we’re calling upon the cycling community to make simple changes and join us to help stop our oceans from drowning in plastic,” said Jeremy Darroch, CEO of the Sky Group.
Forming part of Team Sky’s “Race to 2020” campaign, the team’s pledge to #PassOnPlastic is in line with a commitment to eliminate all single-use plastic (SUP) from its operations, products and supply chain by 2020.
It has already started work with logistics experts and Sky Ocean Rescue partner, Unipart, to help reduce the use of plastics across the team and to develop plastic-free packaging solutions to fulfill its logistical requirements.
Team Principal Sir Dave Brailsford said that like all parts of society, cycling must do more to reduce its reliance on single-use plastic at every level.
“The nature of our sport means we have a special responsibility to the environment and at Team Sky we want to take a lead. At the upcoming Tour de France, the Team will be wearing a striking new kit design to highlight the issue to a global audience of millions," Brailsford said. “We want to encourage people across the world to think about their own use of plastic and make changes in their everyday life. We are all in a position where we can make a difference.”
Team Sky’s leading cyclist and current Tour de France champion Chris Froome, said, “It’s great that the team are getting behind such an important issue – one that is having a huge impact in the world we live in today.”
It is estimated that eight million metric tons of plastic waste enters the world's oceans annually.
