Sustainable Supply Chains
At the beginning of the year, it was time to keep our fingers crossed: The prestigious SPOBIS Conference awarded the coveted Sustainability in Sports Award on 31st January. Among the finalists was also the project “From Field to Fan Shop,” which was among the top 3 in the Clubs & Associations category.
The SPOBIS Conference, being the most significant European B2B event in the sports business, annually brings together decision-makers and experts from the sports industry. In collaboration with the Deutsche Fußball Liga (DFL) and the Hypo Vereinsbank, it signaled with the award the serious commitment of German professional sports to issues such as climate change and social inequality.
Empowering Communities – Changing the Game
“From Field to Fan Shop” embodied precisely these values. With the aim of bringing more sustainably produced merchandise into the fan shops of German football clubs, the project has been supporting smallholder families in the Indian state of Gujarat for almost two years. In collaboration with nine Bundesliga clubs and the sustainable textile company BRANDS Fashion, the cultivation of organic cotton has been promoted.
The successes of this initiative were already visible: Over 1,260 young people benefited from sports programs, improving not only their athletic abilities but also their mental well-being and social skills. At the same time, 450 Indian smallholder women and men began cultivating organic cotton. Thanks to comprehensive training and support during the cultivation cycle, their 2023 harvest was certified as “Organic in Conversion.”
Not only on the field but also in the fan shops, the impact of this initiative is evident. Cotton from the 2023 harvest is already being used by BRANDS Fashion to produce environmentally friendly fan items, making them available to football fans.
Improved Income Situations and better labour standards
But the commitment does not end there. The initiative continues to support smallholder women and men and works to improve labour standards and income situations. In collaboration with CLRA in India and Fairtrade in Germany, measures are being developed to increase the income of smallholder women and men, as well as training on labour standards and awareness of fair working conditions.
“From Field to Fan Shop” impressively demonstrates how collective engagement in sports can contribute to taking social, ecological, and economic responsibility and effecting sustainable change. With the award of the Sustainability in Sports Award, this would not only be recognition for the project itself but also an important step for the entire sports industry towards greater sustainability and social responsibility.
Link to Further Materials
- From Field to Fanshop (nachhaltige-agrarlieferketten.org)
- German football clubs for sustainable merchandising (nachhaltige-agrarlieferketten.org)
- Achieving more Sustainability in Global Agricultural Supply Chains – giz.de
Contact Person
Beatrice Haller
Key Buzzwords
Sustainable Agriculture; Cotton; Football; Sport4Development, India
