Real Betis Unveils Innovative Eco-Friendly Jersey Made From Oranges

omidbasir- Real Betis, through its environmental sustainability platform Forever Green, has launched a pioneering jersey made from oranges to raise awareness about the significance of urban green spaces. This new Hummel kit will be worn by the club during the 25th round of LaLiga against Rayo Vallecano, emphasizing the value of metropolitan natural heritage as a means of reducing temperatures, providing climate refuge, and enhancing quality of life in cities.

The jersey features perforated numbers inspired by the texture of orange skin and includes scratch-and-sniff technology. This sustainable, chemical-free ink releases the scent of orange blossom when scratched, symbolizing the city. This innovation is made possible by the specialized manufacturer STAHLS TPT, who also created the player names and sponsors featured on the kit.

This initiative is part of the campaign “Life in Green Begins in the Neighborhood,” developed in collaboration with the agency Officer & Gentleman. The aim is to raise awareness of the role trees, particularly orange trees, play in urban landscapes by providing shade, mitigating the heat island effect, and serving as a cultural identity marker, while also functioning as a crucial component of natural drainage systems.

The iconic Plaza de Doña Elvira was chosen as the venue for the jersey presentation. During a symbolic event, Joaquín Sánchez, a Betis legend and current advisor, along with Rafael Gordillo, president of the Real Betis Balompié Foundation, emotionally lifted a child from the Betis School to retrieve the jersey from the branches of one of the plaza’s traditional orange trees.

The event revolved around the theme of “growing green,” linking Real Betis’ youth development model with urban sustainability. According to Rafa Muela, manager of the Real Betis Balompié Foundation, “our learning process transcends sports to instill values of respect, commitment, and collective responsibility, paralleling the health of our cities. We believe that protecting the neighborhood is the first step toward protecting the planet.” The club’s campaign is rooted in the idea of “educating first to grow later,” aiming to project a message from local to global, demonstrating that values embedded today in neighborhoods and stadiums will influence the health and climate discourse of tomorrow.

The limited-edition, retro-styled jersey features a color palette that blends the corporate green of Real Betis Balompié with a darker tone inspired by orange leaves, coupled with the distinct “albero” color, a representation of Seville’s historical aesthetic. The back of the jersey incorporates an organic texture design reminiscent of orange skin, completing the conceptual tribute to Seville’s most iconic fruit.

From a technical standpoint, the jersey is crafted from a novel blend of low-impact materials: 16.2% organic fiber sourced from orange peels, 37.8% Lyocell (regenerated natural fibers from wood cellulose), and 46% recycled polyester. This combination eliminates the use of virgin plastic, transforming waste into a high-value technological garment with a soft, breathable, and highly durable fabric.

The presentation event also featured two esteemed academic experts who validated the scientific and technical basis of the initiative: Eugenio Domínguez Vilches, Professor of Botany at the University of Córdoba and former rector of UNIA and UCO, and Miguel Ángel Campano, a researcher at TEP130, associate professor at the ETS of Architecture at the University of Seville, and secretary of the University Institute of Architecture and Construction Sciences.

Domínguez Vilches emphasized the role of urban trees as essential environmental and health infrastructure, stating, “Urban trees are not mere decorative elements; they are an invisible health infrastructure that helps improve air quality by retaining and absorbing certain pollutants, directly benefiting human health.” He further noted that an orange tree on the street can be as critical to citizen well-being as traffic regulation measures. The professor underscored the need for proper management and care of urban trees and the careful selection of species.

Meanwhile, Miguel Ángel Campano highlighted the role of “urban tree cover as climatic infrastructure that makes streets more livable,” explaining that “shade reduces solar radiation exposure for pedestrians,” and added that “trees regulate their surface temperature through evapotranspiration, limiting the radiation emitted by their canopies and enhancing thermal comfort beneath them.” He also pointed out that “well-integrated tree cover in roadways aids in better rainwater management in neighborhoods, softening runoff peaks toward the urban drainage system.”

This year, Real Betis Balompié has aimed to advance the climate conversation that takes place each season by organizing the iconic sustainability match, evolving its message towards the care of urban ecosystems with a focus on trees. Since the inception of Forever Green, urban gardens have played a significant role, and various initiatives have been organized to plant trees, some in collaboration with other European clubs. The goal is to leverage the influence of football among less environmentally engaged audiences to inspire awareness and stimulate debate and action regarding the necessity of protecting urban greenery and trees.

The verdiblanco club’s initiative highlights the urgent climate crisis in cities, where, according to the UN, 56% of the world’s population currently resides, projected to reach nearly 70% by 2050. In light of this scenario, protecting urban landscapes, particularly their trees, is a strategic priority due to their ability to create comfortable spaces, making them the most effective tool for addressing the global climate crisis at the local level.

Every season, Betis uses a LaLiga match as a platform to spotlight a specific environmental challenge. Under this premise, the upcoming Forever Green match against Rayo Vallecano will mark the fifth milestone of an initiative launched in 2022 against Athletic Club, which established the groundwork with a kit made from 100% recycled polyester, followed by a jersey against RCD Espanyol in 2023 that paid homage to the “3 Rs” of ecology (reduce, reuse, recycle) through a distressed design.

The evolution of the project has allowed for the ongoing exploration of critical environmental challenges, and in 2024, the match against UD Almería focused on responsible water management in the face of drought. More recently, in 2025 against Real Sociedad, the sustainability match highlighted the invasion of the Asian alga Rugulopteryx Okamurae along the Andalusian coasts, turning an environmental threat into an opportunity for circular reuse.