Robert Redford, NBA, And NRDC Team Up For First-Ever NBA Green Week
Filed under: sports — Michael d'Estries @ 3:21 pm
April 1st 2009

Robert Redford headlining PSAs for the first-ever NBA Green Week? What we figured might be another April Fools joke is actually the real deal — and ambitious at that.
The National Basketball Association, in partnership with the Natural Resources Defense Council, will unleash its inaugural NBA Green Week 2009 will tip off tomorrow (April 2nd) and running through April 10. Besides the PSAs from Redford, the NBA will also launch a new micro-site with green tips for fans and inteviews with players. From the article,
As part of NBA Green Week 2009, adidas will outfit all players with 100 percent organic cotton adidas shooting shirts featuring the NBA Green logo. The Denver Nuggets, Charlotte Bobcats, and the Chicago Bulls will wear green-colored uniforms and socks made from 45 percent organic cotton during select home games throughout the week to raise additional environmental awareness. NBA.com will also host an online auction of Spalding basketballs, made from 40 percent recycled materials and autographed by NBA players. The auction will tip off on April 2 and continue through April 16, with all proceeds benefiting the NRDC.
In addition, the NRDC will work with all teams to reduce energy use and waste at all offices, arenas, and events. The NBA Store in New York City will host “Recycling Dreams,” a footwear drive to collect gently worn athletic shoes. Customers who bring in shoes will receive a 20 percent discount on their purchase of new athletic shoes. All donated footwear will go to Hoops 4 Hope, a global not-for-profit organization that supports youth development throughout southern Africa with programs that teach life skills through the game of basketball. There will also be more products using recycled and organic materials on sale at participating sports stores around the country.
Not bad, right? Kudos to the NRDC for doing a lot of the grunt work here. Check out the full press release here.


