'Taking the public for fools!' Eco-zealot football owner slammed for 'climate stripes' kit

The kit features a nod to the "warming stripes graph", a graphic which illustrate the rise in average global temperature since 1850 through a series of blue, then white, then red bars.

It also sports a label on the side "inspired by the biodiversity stripes" - which show the loss of Earth's wildlife since the 1970s in a similar fashion to their climate counterparts.

Dale Vince, the owner and chairman of Forest Green and a climate change activist who has marched with Just Stop Oil, lauded the jersey as "fantastic", adding that his club was "chuffed to join the Show Your Stripes campaign".

But some fans weren't so pleased with their club's latest offering - which retails for almost £50.

One jabbed: "This is horrid," while another lambasted the shirt, saying: "Look at the state of it!"

However, more of the Forest Green faithful came out in support of the new kit - with fans labelling the pink strip "strong" and numerous others declaring their love.

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This is neither the first time the "climate stripes" have made their way into the world of footballing apparel, nor is it the first novel kit announcement by the Gloucestershire outfit.

Reading FC, in the 2022/23 season, also sported the stripes on their sleeves as part of a "progressive partnership" with the University of Reading - whose Professor Ed Hawkins created the design.

While in 2021, Forest Green launched the "world's first digital kit", where fans could shell out up to £10 for an online avatar of themselves wearing their team's home strip.

Professor Hawkins said: "The climate stripes are designed to start conversations about our warming world.

"Bringing the stripes to the pitch will get fans talking about our planet, the challenges it faces, and what must happen to stop rising temperatures.

But his comments drew ire from one supporter, who said: "Stop taking the public for fools... You really think the fans will look at a stripe on a shirt and think: 'Ah yes, let's talk about the planet?'"

And professor Miles Richardson, creator of the biodiversity stripes at the University of Derby, said: "The loss of wildlife around the world since 1970 is shocking and the UK is one of the most nature depleted countries on the planet.

"Featuring the biodiversity stripes on the new kit helps raise awareness of the biodiversity crisis and encourage action to take the UK out of the ecological relegation zone."