SPORT FAIRÄNDERT: Sustainable procurement in sport has a measurable impact
- Structural change at the major event: around 11,000 volunteer T-shirts were converted to sustainable materials and certified production for the Leipzig 2025 Gymnastics Festival.
- Impact in everyday club life: clubs are starting to change their textile procurement – supported by individual advice and workshops as part of the “Fair Wear Works” project
- Now structurally anchored: Sustainable procurement must be bindingly integrated into funding structures and association strategies.
Bonn, April 28, 2026, Sustainable procurement in sport has long since arrived in practice – and can now be measured in concrete terms. The results of the “SPORT FAIRÄNDERT” campaign, which was implemented as part of the “Fair Wear Works” project around the International German Gymnastics Festival Leipzig 2025, show how consistently this change is already being implemented.
The example of the gymnastics festival clearly shows that even events of this size can not only take ecological and social standards into account, but also successfully put them into practice.
One key success of the campaign shows how this claim is reflected in concrete measures: thanks to targeted advice from the German Gymnastics Federation’s procurement team, around 11,0200 T-shirts for volunteers were converted to sustainable materials and certified production conditions. In addition, 1,200 bucket hats and around 4,000 gym bags – both GOTS & Faitrade Cotton certified and with a fairness message – were procured as part of the campaign. This is the first time that sustainable procurement has been implemented on this scale in a major mass sports event and at the same time made visible to participants.
The campaign is also having an impact on everyday club life. Associations have started to adapt their procurement processes and integrate sustainable textile alternatives. This was based on targeted support offers – from workshops & web seminars and 1:1 consultations to activating formats as part of the gymnastics festival and beyond.
As part of the “Sustainability programme for volunteers in sport”, club representatives were trained in advance and made aware of the challenges of global supply chains. An online ideas competition and accompanying fair play events picked up on these ideas and translated them into concrete practical formats. Particularly successful were low-threshold approaches such as flea markets and swap meets for sporting goods, which were directly implemented by clubs in events and made sustainable consumption tangible in everyday club life.
“Right now, we need concrete examples and solutions that work,” says Bettina Faust, Project Manager at the Global Nature Fund. “Sport reaches people directly in their everyday lives and shows that fair production and team spirit belong together.”
Over the course of the project, around 6,000 people in more than 130 clubs and several associations in popular and professional sport were reached directly with educational formats, presentations and participation opportunities.
Structural anchoring as the next step
The experiences from “SPORT FAIRÄNDERT” show: Sustainable procurement in sport works if it is specifically supported. However, binding framework conditions are needed to spread this development.
High-reach formats such as the nationwide jersey day offer the opportunity to make sustainable sportswear visible and link it to specific support offers. It will be crucial to systematically integrate sustainable procurement into funding programs, association strategies and existing initiatives.
The experience gained in the project shows: The tools are available and demand is growing. The task now is to further develop these approaches structurally and anchor them in organized sport.
Because one thing is certain: Sustainability in sport is not a short-term campaign – but a key task for the future.
“Fair Wear Works”: Advancing sustainability in sport
In the “Fair Wear Works” project, Global Nature Fund and FEMNET e.V. have been working together since 2020 to promote socially fair and ecological supply chains in textile purchasing. With their respective expertise, the partners advise sports clubs as well as companies in the healthcare sector and universities. As part of the project, we want to address questions and needs and approach sports managers with solutions to make their future textile purchasing in the sportswear & merchandise sector more sustainable.
Fair Wear Works is supported by ENGAGEMENT GLOBAL gGmbH on behalf of the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), the Postcode Lottery and Fairtrade Germany. Thanks to the funding, a fairness campaign was implemented as part of the project at the International German Gymnastics Festival 2025.
Background: Why sustainable sports textiles are important
In Germany alone, around 11 billion euros were spent on sportswear and footwear in 2020 (source: BMWi, 2021). However, production is often associated with massive social and environmental problems: Low wages, forced overtime and poor working conditions characterize the textile industry, while high water consumption and chemical use cause enormous environmental damage. The textile industry also contributes 8% to global CO₂ emissions.
Popular sport, which embodies fair play as a fundamental principle, has a social responsibility here. With sustainable purchasing solutions, clubs can not only set an example for human rights and resource conservation, but also raise society’s awareness of sustainable development.
