Football's Plastic Problem

Every football fan knows the feeling.A new shirt drops. The design is perfect. The player you love is wearing it. It might sell out. And suddenly, the question of whether you actually need another football shirt becomes much harder to answer.As the largest FIFA World Cup in history gets underway, Office Hours explores the psychology, business and environmental impact of football merchandise with Dr Byungdoo Kim from the Centre for Sustainable Business at King’s Business School.Football shirts have evolved from simple sporting uniforms into fashion statements, cultural symbols and expressions of identity. From David Beckham’s influence on fashion and TikTok’s blokecore trend to the explosion of limited-edition releases, the football shirt has become a powerful product built on emotion and belonging.But what does that mean for sustainability?Dr Kim explains why fans often do not see football shirts as ordinary consumer goods, how brands navigate unpredictable demand driven by star players and tournament moments, and why the industry’s biggest challenge may not just be making greener shirts, but asking a more difficult question:Do we really need another one?Office Hours is the podcast from King’s Business School, bringing world-leading research into the conversations shaping business, work and society.