All six sustainable products still boast the company’s elite performance technology, but fall under the $50 price point — here’s what you need to know about how to go Gen Green.
The premier manufacturer in sports is making a big environmental change. On Wednesday, Wilson Sporting Goods announced the arrival of its “Gen Green” collection, a specialty line of basketballs, footballs, volleyballs, and soccer balls all made from sustainable goods.
Per a company release, six different balls make up the Gen Green collection:
- Basketball: NBA Forge Plus Eco and NBA DRV Pro Eco
- Football: NFL Stride Pro Eco and NFL Ignition Pro Eco
- Volleyball: Shoreline Eco
- Soccer: NCAA Vantage
As the public takes action to adopt a more eco-friendly lifestyle, Wilson is doing its part to combat emissions and waste, simultaneously ensuring all products remain at their best quality, and defend its “home field” — the company’s affectionate name for planet Earth.
“At Wilson, we are always thinking with an innovation-first mindset, and Gen Green is a perfect example of that,” Kevin Murphy, Global General Manager for Wilson Team Sports, said of the news. “We will continue to prioritize using even more sustainable materials in our product lines, to have a positive influence on our athletes and less impact on the environment.”
Notably, this isn’t the first time Wilson has taken risks by providing advanced technology within the sporting goods space. During this year’s NBA All-Star weekend in Salt Lake City, the Chicago-based brand unveiled an all-black, playable basketball made of 3D-printed material.
The Wilson Gen Green collection is made of repurposed plastic, recycled rubber, and bio-based sugarcane. Created by Brasil-based firm Braskem, the substance is specifically derived from sugarcane through ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA) as part of a process that has never been used before to create sports equipment. The EVA in the Gen Green collection uses two times fewer CO2 emissions than conventional EVA.
Additionally, select Gen Green items are constructed of the equivalent of at least 2.75 repurposed plastic water bottles.
The Gen Green collection is available now at Wilson.com, with varying price points all currently under $50.