Footballers Mesut Özil and Mathieu Flamini collaborated to "launch a new skincare range made entirely from sustainable products," according to SOCCEREX. The collaboration is the result of a "collective passion" to support efforts against climate change as well as the current refugee crisis. Named Unity, the brand offers a range of well-being products formed only with natural ingredients, with part of the profits going toward charities "through a separate Unity project aimed at children affected by climate change and war." Former Arsenal player Flamini, who played with Özil for three years, has a "well-known passion for the environment," and alongside his football career, "set up a biochemical firm while playing for AC Milan in Italy" (SOCCEREX, 11/7).
LIVE 'WITH HOPE': SKY SPORTS' Adam Bate reported two years ago, Özil visited the Zaatari camp just north of Amman, Jordan, which is home to "vast numbers of refugees" from the war in Syria. Özil said, "It is the biggest thing I have ever experienced. I saw things there that if you just saw it on television, it would not touch you in the same way. Kids with no parents trying to survive. It was like a prison. They were just trying to live their lives with hope. It changed my life." Özil' said of Flamini, "Mathieu is always talking about business. He is always saying that we have to do something and always asking what else we can do. He is an inspiration to me. So the idea came up that we could create something together." The Unity brand is comprised of a "range of grooming products with a difference." Not only is "everything natural but even the packaging is made from sugar cane not plastic." The aim is to "show that sustainable products are the future," with 1% of revenue going to "good causes" (SKY SPORTS, 11/7). In London, Tomé Morrissy-Swan wrote why a skincare-wellness brand? For Flamini, it is "a natural extension of the modern professional footballer's quest to be as healthy as possible." He said, "We are athletes, we train many hours a day, we try to eat healthy, to drink lots of water. At the end of the day, the skin is the biggest organ, and you go into the shower and put some crap on it." The pair's social media reach (Flamini has 418,000 followers on Instagram, Özil has 18.2 million) shows they are "in a privileged position of influence." Flamini said, "Social media allows you to speak to people. Most of our followers are millennials and the next generation. We want to use this platform to create awareness around the problems of the environment, around social equality and to inspire them. Football has no border" (TELEGRAPH, 11/7).
