So I was wondering if it's possible to play sports and be eco-friendly at the same time. I mean, I'm out there shooting lay-ups, swinging the bat, catching that pass, and being picked last for the pick-up basketball game, quite possibly because I'm wondering...could I be Earth's friend while I'm doing this? Well it turns out I can! I did a simple Google Search and found quite a few ways to be green while fumbling the football or bunting in kickball.

If you're playing a game, you're probably gonna need a ball. I didn't know this until just now, but you can get athletic equipment that respects the environment. Check out Fair Trade Sports, where you can buy balls and jerseys and equipment that is environmentally friendly, and it's not made by little kids in sweatshops either! An article on the eJournal USA website discusses how soccer balls, footballs, and other game equipment is being manufactured with different materials by some companies to last longer and use materials that won't harm the environment when they're disposed of or destroyed. Changing things like the coating on surfboards or the inner-lining of a basketball can make a huge difference many years from now when these things are destroyed or left in a landfill.

The same article talks about how the X-Games went entirelly green in 2004, with everything from equipment to clothing to materials going green. Not only does this large scale event going green help the environment, it also acts as tremendous advertising for the cause, and the X games is marketed towards the high school and college age crowd that can make an impact. The article also talks about some games that have an emphasis or foundation in getting outside and making some sports accessable to people in inner-cities or crowded suburbs, and the equipment they use can be environmentally friendly as well. These games include street bike polo and mojo kickball.




For more on Mojo Kickball, check out mojokickball.com.