Eagles go for sustainability: Mannheim ice hockey club committed to eco-fair merchandising

Bonn, 06.04.2022: More and more companies are relying on standards and norms to protect the environment and human rights in many areas of production. Procurement management is also increasingly becoming part of sustainable corporate action. The purchase of workwear and protective clothing, merchandise and flat linen (e.g. towels and bed linen), on which around one billion euros is spent in Germany every year, is not unaffected by this.

The environmental protection organization Global Nature Fund (GNF) and the women’s rights organization FEMNET have pooled their expertise in eco-fair procurement processes and resource conservation to jointly advise companies on changing their textile purchasing practices as part of the FAIR WEAR WORKS project. With the Adler Mannheim ice hockey club, they are now also cooperating with a well-known name in German top-class sport – because the Eagles are not only concerned about their success on the ice, but also about protecting our natural resources and the people who work with them.

Whether sweaters, flags or T-shirts made of fabric: the seven-time champions of the German Ice Hockey League rely on the combined expertise of FAIR WEAR WORKS for the production of their merchandising articles in order to positively influence working conditions and environmental impact along the supply chain with the help of a targeted purchasing strategy. “Sustainability is not a trend, but a global issue. We try to implement this task in the best possible way. However, there are still many hurdles that need to be overcome, such as a lack of transparency,” explains Dominik Dobiasch, Head of Merchandising at the club.

The GNF and FEMNET are working together with the ice hockey club to overcome such challenges, for example by shedding light on the jungle of the many different textile labels and certifications and by taking ecological and social standards into account when purchasing products for merchandising. And they are optimistic that they will be able to motivate other top German sports players to follow Adler Mannheim’s example: The advantages for people and the environment, but also for the image of a club and its fans in terms of convincing CSR communication are obvious – and cannot be invalidated by supposed counter-arguments.

“The fear that sustainable textiles are more expensive often proves to be an obstacle to the implementation of ambitious sustainability goals,” says Marijke Mulder from FEMNET. “We would like to allay companies’ concerns: Because eco-fairly produced textiles can be more expensive, but they don’t have to be – as a study by experts on the subject shows[download the study here]. We offer companies holistic, comprehensive advice that takes various relevant procurement aspects into account: What effect do the factors of quantity, quality, design or duration of the business relationship have, what strengths does one specialist retailer have over another? Our market research and life cycle analyses offer companies the opportunity to not only look good in terms of sustainability management and CSR, but also from a business perspective.”

On Sports Day today, April 6, the project partners are pleased about the Adler Mannheim’s commitment to eco-fairly produced merchandising – and invite all interested companies from the world of sports and beyond to take advantage of the competent support of GNF and FEMNET.

FAIR WEAR WORKS is sponsored by Deutsche Postcode Lotterie and ENGAGEMENT GLOBAL gGmbH on behalf of the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), with the kind support of Fairtrade Germany.

Find out more about the FAIR WEAR WORKS project