Has the international sporting goods industry finally woken up?
Sustainability, fair trade, and social responsibility have been on the radar of sporting goods manufacturers for years now and continue to gain traction.
With consumers increasingly on the look-out for fair-trade products as well as those made using environmentally friendly processes, companies are under pressure to adopt an appropriate stance.
In line with the motto “Be responsible”, ISPO Munich 2020 offered 80,000 visitors a comprehensive insight into the areas of environmental protection, production & design, and society & health.
Sustainability Hub
At the Sustainability Hub, hosted by ISPO partner Greenroom Voice, “it wasn’t just about business anymore,” noted organiser Transparency Showcase Cira Reidel.
“The collective wake up was tangible. For the first time, there was a real discussion about what we have to face as an industry.
“Even the bright pink elephant in the room got tackled: ‘How much stuff do we actually need? Don’t we have too much of everything already?’ ”
Greenroom Voice’s Sustainability Hub offered a wealth of information and products, several of them centered on wool: Lavalan®, the wool based insulation; Aclima, producer of the ISPO award-winning FleeceWool, Südwolle Group‘s biodegradable pure wool and wool blend worsted yarns; HD Wool insulation; and American Wool.
Meet the Wool Chain
IWTO hosted a ‘Meet the Wool Chain’ session on 27 January, with speakers from farm and industry.
Tellenby Merino Stud Owner Lesley Prior, Norwegian champion shearer Anna-Lise Humstad, BKB General Manager Isak Staats, and IWTO Secretary General Dalena White presented to a packed house. Presentations are available to Members from the IWTO office – contact us for details.
The Woolmark Company also used ISPO to unveil its latest developments – notably the Dark Ice Project, where wool will be tested to its limits by explorers venturing to the Arctic Ocean to study the effects of microplastics on the earth’s ice and snow.
Next year’s ISPO trade fair takes place on 28-31 January 2021.