Red, white and black is in the DNA of Manchester United and Nike has captured the spirit of the club through this season’s home kit. The new shirt leans towards a classic look, inspired by the 1970s, and features a collar for the first time since Nike became the team’s official kit supplier in 2002. And the chevron design that featured last season is evident in the engineered mesh pattern on the back of the shirt, with the V-shape echoed in the shoulder print detail and in the socks.
Kit-wise, there are three options for the home games: red jersey, white shorts and black socks; red jersey, black shorts and white socks; or red jersey, white shorts and white socks depending on the opponents.
Aon, the new shirt sponsor, features on the front of the shirt, while inside the shirt on the back of the club crest is the club's mantra, 'Believe'. The message sits right next to the heart, revealing every United fan's 'Inner Pride', while the symbolic Red Devil sits on the sleeve of the shirt and the shorts to add the finishing touches to the kit.
Nike’s 'Considered Design' programme aims to create performance products that minimise environmental impact by reducing waste during the design and development process, use environmentally preferred materials, and eliminate toxins.
To make the kits, Nike uses discarded water bottles destined for landfill sites in Japan and Taiwan, where they can take up to 500 years to decompose. This saves precious raw materials and reduces energy consumption by up to 30 per cent compared to conventional fabrics.
The bottles are placed in a large washing machine to clean them and get rid of labels, before they are chopped into tiny flakes and melted down into a yarn that is ultimately spun to make the fabric for the jerseys.
Use of recycled polyester across its new range of club kits means Nike has saved nearly 13 million plastic water bottles, a total of around 254,000 kg of polyester waste – enough to cover more than 29 football pitches, and to stretch over 3,000 kilometres if laid out end-to-end. The process is used for all shirts, whether worn by the players or available to fans.
"As we look at how we design and develop products and run our global business, it’s not enough to be solving the challenges of today," said Nike spokesman Charlie Brooks.
"We are designing for the sustainable economy of tomorrow, and for us that means using fewer resources, more sustainable materials and renewable energy to produce new products. We’re proud to be a partner of Manchester United and to help them achieve their environmental goals."
Considering the environment doesn’t mean sacrificing the renowned high performance of Nike’s kits, and the new Manchester United home kit has been engineered to give players a greater competitive advantage than ever before, keeping players drier and more
comfortable, allowing them to maintain their optimum body temperature and perform at their peak on the pitch.
The improved Nike 'Dri-Fit' fabric, now 13 per cent lighter than previous kits, helps to quickly evaporate moisture by drawing through the fabric to the surface and to keep players dry.
Innovative ventilation zones are placed along each side of the jersey to enhance breathability, by up to 7 per cent compared to previous kits, and allow air to pass across the whole torso. These zones have up to 200 tiny laser-cut holes, backed by Nike’s innovative halo application which prevents ripping without reducing air flow. An additional ventilation zone is placed below the waistband on the shorts at the base of the spine.
The jersey’s new double-knit structure gives it a sleeker appearance, while offering 10 per cent more stretch, and also boasts a new dynamic fit, cut to follow the natural contours of the body while allowing for maximum airflow and movement.
Reds winger Nani said: "I think it looks really good and it feels nice. It’s always a nice moment for the players and the fans when you first see the new kit and it’s like a new motivation for us at the start of the season."
The 2010/11 home shirt is available now at store.manutd.com.
If you are based in the USA, you can order your 2010/11 kit here.