A soccer ball is used all over the world, every day. Soccer is the most popular sport globally, which means that manufacturers are constantly trying to evolve the production of the soccer ball and create new and innovative balls to change the way everyone plays. A soccer ball is made up of two main components. The inner “bladder”, and the outer covering of the ball. The standard soccer ball is made of synthetic leather which is stitched around an inflated sphere-like shape of rubber. The sheets of leather are cut up into hexagonal panels and are stitched together using polyester thread. Older soccer balls were used to be made from real leather and held together with cotton laces. However, this became an issue as real leather easily absorbs water which made the ball heavy. Artificial leather, on the other hand, does not allow too much water to be absorbed and usually made of PVC, polyvinyl chloride. Both leather and synthetic material undergo chemical processing to manufacture the material, which means that they do not biodegrade easily. However, since leather is produced from organic material, it has a greater capacity to biodegrade at the end of the product’s life. PVC has been labeled as the “single most environmentally damaging type of plastic” by Greenpeace (Leather Sustainability). Scientists estimate that they can remain in the environment for at least 200-500 years after being manufactured. The chemically intensive processes used in the manufacturing of the product are not well-controlled, which allows it to have a huge potential of causing environmental damage. The largest producer of this material is China, who exports these products all over the world to consumers in Asia, Europe, South America, and North America, and they are relatively “laid-back” when it comes to human rights standards. Vegetable-based synthetic leather is an alternative that has a reduced impact on the environment since it’s biodegradable, but a very small share of the market has access to it, leaving the effects of normally produced synthetic leather to have a great environmental impact. 

      The panels of the outside of the ball are usually stitched together but can also be glued or molded together. There is a lining placed between the outer layer and the bladder, to give the ball bounce, strength, and structure. Polyester and polyester thread are used in these steps. There is a specification to the thickness and quality of thread used, as it must be 5-ply twisted polyester. Hand-stitched soccer balls are usually stronger and more durable than machine stitched balls, which makes them more expensive. Polyester is a synthetic fiber derived from coal, air, water, and petroleum. It has quickly become the United States’ fastest-growing fiber and has such a wide variety of uses. Like synthetic leather, Chinese the largest producer of polyester fibers. Other countries in Asia are also major manufacturers of polyester, and some occur in the United States. Once polyester fibers are produced in China and other Asian countries, they mainly remain in Asia to be made into apparel and other items. From there, the finished pieces of polyester apparel are exported to various nations throughout the world. When polyester is turned into fabric, it becomes far more expensive. Producers of clothing and other items turn this fabric into final products, which are sold to consumers. Polyester has a generally negative impact on the environment. To get the basic materials used in its production, it is necessary to obtain fossil fuels, which are also used for vital energy and plastics productions. The process of obtaining petroleum can release various toxins into the environment, which can harm living organisms in the water and on land. Refineries then must take part in further processes that are required to produce ethylene which is used to make polyester, and this introduces further toxins into the environment. Furthermore, the manufacturing of polyester is not ethical in itself. A majority of polyester producers engage in slave labor, and they are exposed to toxic chemicals that can cause neurological damage, cancer, or other illnesses. Major polyester manufacturing companies are usually owned by international corporations, which enrich themselves while exploiting workers to extremely harmful conditions. Consumers who use apparel with polyester, eventually throw out their items and polyester does not naturally degrade in the environment. As we can see, polyester harms the environment and society at every stage in its production. 

      The inside of the ball is known as the bladder. It can be made of butyl, which is rubber. The bladder can be made of natural or synthetic rubber. Butyl has a better combination of air retention and good contact. Natural rubber is produced from plants and is one of the most important polymers for our society. Natural rubber is a material used in the creation of tens of thousands of different products. It is obtained from latex, which is a liquid sap obtained from a specific type of tree. There are over 2,500 types of three that produce this sap. The main rubber tree was the “Hevea Brasiliensis'' which originally came from Brazil, and then introduced to countries of the far east in Asia. Asia has become the main source of rubber, which Thailand, Indonesia, and Malaysia being the three largest producers. Latex is gathered from the tree in a process called tapping, and acid is added to prevent the sap from solidifying. It then undergoes a series of processes to turn it into a usable product. Water Is removed from the latex to increase the rubber content by spinning the water of the latex through centrifugal force. The latex is further diluted and acid is added which makes rubber particles bunch together to form sheets. Chemicals are added to the rubber to make it stable and improve its strength and durability. It is then shaped through various methods before going through a heat-treatment phase where the rubber is further strengthened. As we can see, the process of manufacturing natural rubber is complicated and goes through various steps. Although most of the world’s rubber production is synthetic, natural rubber production from the rubber tree, Hevea brasiliensis, is increasing.  It is expected to be the leading cause of deforestation in mainland Southeast Asia in the near future. Organizations are attempting to push the need to grow trees for rubber production on low-quality, degraded land instead of clearing high-quality natural forests to plant them. The rubber itself poses a threat to the environment, as it is used in so many different products and discarded constantly throughout the whole year. Rubber can leach hazardous materials into the environment as they decompose, due to chemicals that are used during the manufacturing process. These go into the soil and nearby water sources and become dangerous to plants, soil, and aquatic systems. As long as the latex plants are not sustainably farmed and factories do not adhere to proper environmental regulations, the impact on the environment will be large. 

      Overall, the biggest change in the manufacturing of soccer balls will hopefully be made in the area of unfair working conditions. During the 1990s, it was widely publicized that child laborers, who lived in horrible conditions of poverty and enslavement, stitched the majority of soccer balls. Most of the world’s soccer balls are made in Pakistan, where the job of stitching was delegated to remote villages where children do the work. Hand-stitching is a very labor-intensive process, and studies found that thousands of Pakistani children between the ages of 5 and 14 stitched balls on a full-time basis for as long as 10 to 11 hours a day. Their job consists of sewing together the panels of a soccer ball and gluing in the inflatable bladder. Children are being denied education and in some cases are even working in debt servitude. The International Labor Organization has since established a program to monitor soccer ball production and build education centers for Pakistani children. However, issues continued as some manufacturing shifted to areas where monitoring did not exist, and some manufacturers continued to use child labor even after signing agreements to move away from this tendency. The ILO has pushed people to take action and write to retailers on the importance of taking a full part in this program and increasing efforts to eliminate child labor.  Many soccer ball manufactures were pressured to centralize their manufacturing in one building, instead of passing it onto outside stitchers. Many instituted human rights departments to guarantee that their balls were not being made by child or prison labor. Athletes began to refuse endorsement of some products unless they had a guarantee that it was made under humane conditions. Manufacturers continue to invest in technology that will eliminate hand-stitching, as machines take over the workplace. A soccer ball is a product that is constantly being used worldwide, and I hope that advancements occur as time goes on, to ensure the safety of the people who manufacture the balls, in addition to the protection of our environment.