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Around the world, one million plastic bottles are purchased every minute, while up to five trillion plastic bags are used worldwide every year. In total, half of all plastic produced is designed for single-use purposes – used just once and then thrown away.

Today, we produce about 400 million tonnes of plastic waste every year.

CUAFC Treasurer Ross Harrison said Varsity players wanted match-day kit modelled on 1905, but which demonstrated that we can turn around the trend in pollution that has become the legacy of the last 150 years.

"It's a shirt that pays homage to ¹ú¼ÊÃ×À¼¶ÔÕó¿ÆĪ's esteemed footballing history and recognises the need for new innovative solutions for cutting plastic waste."

At the Varsity matches, CUAFC are wearing the equivalent of more than 2,000 plastic half-litre bottles, approximately 30 bottles per player.

Football's world body FIFA estimates there are more than 200 million players on the planet and billions of supporters.

Women's Blues Co-Captain Abbie Hastie said the idea that just football and its supporters alone could cut billions of tonnes of plastic waste across the planet with their choice of a bit of kit was inspiring.

"Saving the planet is the biggest goal any athlete could score."

To produce the kits, post-consumer PET plastic bottles are first shredded into small pieces in a recycling plant and cleaned. The parts are melted and the resulting mass is pressed into the desired shape by extrusion. From this the yarn is produced and further processed into fabric which is used to make clothing. The result: Kits made entirely from plastic bottles. 

The shirts, socks and shorts have been developed by Appareal, a Swiss-based company whose mission is to provide sustainable clothing from recycled sources. It was co-founded six years ago by Andy Wright, who is studying for a Masters in Crime and Thriller writing at Selwyn College.