Kansas City Chiefs fans flocked to stores across the metro area to get their hands on AFC Championship gear that had been sealed away in boxes until the moment the Chiefs defeated the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday.
But what happens to the other team's now false championship gear that's still sitting in its own sealed boxes? Romaine Seguin is the CEO of Good360, a nonprofit organization with a solution to that problem.
"Certainly we don't want any of these items in landfills," Seguin said. "They can be used by someone, and that's the beauty of it."
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For the past nine years, Good360 has partnered with the National Football League to repurpose thousands of unused, pre-printed gear, and give it a new life. Instead of being worn by fans here in the U.S., it all goes to other geographical locations in need around the world.
The NFL doesn't allow any of the losing team's gear to stay in North or South America. Therefore, the league works with Good360 to distribute donations overseas to countries in Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe and the Middle East.
Anna Isaacson is the NFL's senior vice president of social responsibility and she says the program not only helps those in need, but also helps the environment.
"Year after year the NFL works with Good360 to distribute merchandise because of its successful track record of working with nonprofits that can distribute our product in areas where it would have the most impact," Isaacson said in a statement. "It’s important to reduce our carbon footprint, especially in Super Bowl host cities, and we look forward to working with Good360 as well as our other partners to reduce and reuse wherever possible."
"It’s something special," Seguin added. "That we get to take care of someone and we also get to take care of the planet."
This story was originally published by Grant Stephens at Scripps News Kansas City.
