If you buy merchandise at a sports event, what do you do with the plastic bags used in the packaging? Since you have no use for it, you probably just throw it in the trash. But I want you to stop and think for a moment. Is there really no use for that bag? Is it possible to recycle them instead of throwing them away as garbage? In fact, if you recycle the bags, they can be reused as another material. In order to accelerate their eco-friendly efforts, Vissel Kobe and the Rakuten Group have launched a project to collect plastic bags and turn them into new bags (shoppers).

In April of this year, the J.League announced its participation in the Sport Positive Leagues, a system aimed at promoting climate action across the sports world, and this news was recently covered by syncSPORTS by Rakuten.The background to this is the critical situation in which the number of matches that have had to be cancelled due to weather has increased by about five times since 2018.Takayuki Tsujii, the league’s executive officer in charge of sustainability, also previously spoke of his concerns about the heat (see previous interview article here ).

To improve this situation, Vissel Kobe has been proactively working to protect the environment, such as by introducing a ” Circularity Assessment ” at home games and using cutlery made from environmentally friendly materials in its food and beverage outlets.Now, they have launched a new project to transform plastic bags into shoppers.

The idea of creating a shopper was born from the desire to create a product that fans and supporters would feel close to and that they could use for as long as possible.It is intended to be used on a daily basis as a storage bag for everyday shopping or when going to Soccer school.For this project, production was carried out with support from tech startup RECOTECH, which was also in charge of the aforementioned “Circularity Assessment,” and Osaka Wada Chemical Industry, a manufacturer specializing in plastic packaging.

At the Rakuten SUPER MATCH (a home game at the Japan National Stadium for Vissel Kobe , sponsored by the Rakuten Group) held in April 2025, a “Plastic Bag Collection Spot” was set up near the merchandise shop to collect plastic bags used to package products upon purchase.

The collected plastic is then transported to specialized recycling partners.After carefully managing traceability, the plastic is recycled together with high-quality plastic collected from other companies, ensuring stable quality and high recycling efficiency.

This time, the “mass balance method” has been adopted, which allocates the amount collected and recycled at home games as recycled materials, and the collected bags will be manufactured at Osaka Wada Chemical Industry’s factory as what is essentially a new “Vissel Kobe Original Shopper.”

Takashi Nakao of Osaka Wada Chemical Industry and Hiroki Omura of RECOTECH spoke to us about this project.

“I think it’s a good initiative to create new shopping bags from plastic bags that would normally end up in the trash.Japan has long had a culture of valuing things, but when it comes to plastic, there has been a tendency to throw it away.This time, about 10% of each shopping bag is made from recycled materials, so it’s important to communicate that plastic can also be recycled and to make this a part of our culture.” (Takashi Nakao, Osaka Wada Chemical Industry)

“For example, there are still many materials that can be recycled from sports spectators, such as old uniforms that are no longer worn and cheering flags.This shopper production is just one example, but it’s important to create an opportunity.” (Hiroki Omura, RECOTECH )

The shopper, which has been in production for approximately five months, is scheduled to go on sale at Vissel Kobe’s home matches from September 2025.This initiative may not have a major impact on climate change countermeasures, but it is certainly important to continue building on it one step at a time.Vissel Kobe and the Rakuten Group will continue to work to combat climate change, hoping that through this shopper, fans and supporters will become more conscious of environmental conservation in their daily lives.

Pre-printed bags reborn as shoppers.

Vissel Kobe and the Rakuten Group have adopted the slogan “Powered by Sports. Playing for All. A BETTER FUTURE TOGETHER” logo is printed in large.

PHOTO: Teppei Hori
TEXT: Kodai Wada
EDIT：Yohsuke Watanabe (IN FOCUS)