Sport is more than a leisure activity, a career or an economic sector. Physical activity is as essential for the individual as it is for our society as a whole. Sport provides a balance to our largely sedentary lifestyles and promotes mental wellbeing. We saw this clearly during the pandemic.
But sport also promotes participation, teamwork, discipline, inclusion and gender equality, and strengthens people’s self-esteem and social bonds. It sustains and unites communities and fosters a sense of belonging.
In recent years, moreover, sport has become a powerful tool for raising awareness of important social issues. High-profile clubs and sports stars are initiating and supporting campaigns against racism and poverty and for diversity and gender equality. Many sports and outdoor brands are positioning themselves with a socially relevant message and taking a public stand. Here are some great examples from the last months.
Puma: Social commitment in the supply chain
Employees at the Puma factory in La Rioja, Argentina, have launched initiatives in the local community to support the people there in their daily lives. These include providing meals for local children, supporting community kitchens and advocating for the responsible treatment of animals at an animal shelter. Through this volunteer work, the company aims to establish genuine relationships with the community and foster the well-being of all involved.
Puma says it supports employee involvement in charitable projects:
“We want all full-time employees to do an average of two hours of community service per year. Past projects have ranged from beach clean-ups and tree planting to organizing and participating in charity runs. Our colleagues have also helped disadvantaged people, especially children, with food and school supplies. We are very proud of the great initiatives of our Pumas. In total, the initiatives carried out by our subsidiaries on five continents in 2023 resulted in 57,344 hours of community service.”
Kari Traa: Promoting the inclusivity of outdoor activities
The Norwegian outdoor label Kari Traa has been committed to women and sports for years and regularly organizes community events to inspire women to feel happier, healthier and stronger. In June, Kari Traa and Hanan Abdelrahman invited the public to go hiking. Hanan is passionate about enabling all women to enjoy outdoor activities with confidence, regardless of their background, religion or physical abilities. “There’s something about being together navigating over rocks and roots and sitting by a quiet lake that makes you want to open up and share,” writes Kari Traa General Manager Georgina Kirby on LinkedIn.
Snipes: support for Afro-German startups
The streetwear retailer Snipes has been involved in social projects for years to promote innovation, creativity and leadership in its own communities and has even created a slogan for it: ‘Snipes serves.’ In collaboration with the non-profit organization AiDiA, which networks, strengthens and promotes black entrepreneurs in Germany, Snipes has launched the Young Entrepreneurs Club at Studio44 in Berlin. This 12-week program is designed to equip young black people with the skills, knowledge and network they need to become successful entrepreneurs.
The North Face: Removing barriers to climbing and bouldering
The North Face is shining the spotlight on the next generation of climbers and boulderers – and not just for Global Climbing Day, which takes place this year on July 13. What began in 2017 with a $1 million investment to bring the sport of climbing to communities across the US has grown into hundreds of climbing gyms, bringing many people around the world closer to the sport of climbing . To accomplish this, The North Face has worked with numerous partners – such as The Trust for Public Land, ID Sculpture, non-profit organizations and gyms – to build free, public bouldering boulders for youth in residential areas. These projects break down barriers by putting climbing within literal reach.
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Adidas: Breaking barriers for women’s sports
In 2020, to eliminate the cultural stigmas and systemic inequalities that women and girls continue to face in sports, Adidas launched the Breaking Barriers project and, in collaboration with the organizations Common Goal, Football Without Borders and Women Win, developed the Breaking Barriers Academy. The aim is not only to make it easier for women and girls to access (even non-typical) sports, but also to offer workshops on topics such as inclusive training methods, the creation of safe spaces for women and the promotion of menstrual awareness in sports. The most recent event: a celebrity charity football match at the end of May 2024 in Berlin. This stood as a joint symbol of equal opportunity, cohesion and solidarity, with celebrities such as German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerboc k and 102-year-old Holocaust survivor Margot Friedländer in attendance. In March, Adidas founded the Adidas Foundation, to promote such social topics as anti-discrimination, equality and crisis support as well as to advocate for environmental protection.
Salomon Foundation: Support for mountaineers and now also for charities
Since 1999, the Salomon Foundation has been supporting mountain professionals and their families when they face hardship, such illness, injury or a sudden death. Since last December, the foundation has been expanding its reach and begun working with regional organizations in Europe, Mexico and the US that provide public access to outdoor sports or some sort of social service – aid for cancer patients, refugees, amputees, people of color or the indigent. The foundation provides them with outdoor equipment and takes them out into nature.
Nike: Global partner program for children’s sports
According to the official Impact Report for the 2023 financial year, Nike has helped more than 1.1 million children worldwide – 48 percent of them girls – discover the joy of movement through play and sports-based programs run by Nike partners in their communities. In addition, Nike has provided more than 142,000 coaches with training materials and trained more than 14,000 coaches to offer children fun, inclusive sports programs. The goal is to achieve large-scale behavioral change and thus influence the way young people, and especially girls, experience sports.
One such initiative is Nike’s partnership with Nala Track Club in Nyahururu City, Kenya. Founded in 2022 by elite distance runner and Nike athlete Mary Ngugi, the female-only club aims to create pathways for young women to succeed in running by providing a holistic and supportive training camp experience. Nike’s support helps fund the club and develop more women coaches in Kenya, empowering girls to see the myriad of professional options available to them in sports and beyond.
Patagonia: Environmental activism against the destruction of nature
“We are in business to save our home planet,” says Patagonia’s founder Yvon Chouinard, and the company takes its influence on politics and society very seriously. One of its greatest successes in recent years has been the fight against the destruction of Europe’s last wild river, the Vjosa in Albania. In 2022, the Albanian government signed a declaration of intent with Patagonia to designate the Vjosa River a nature reserve. In 2023, it was enshrined in law. But Patagonia is also not afraid to hold up a mirror to its own customers: in May, it premiered a documentary, The Shitthropocene, that examines our consumption habits and the resulting clothing waste.
Hummel: Marketing with political statements
Hummel has for years shown a knack for media-effective marketing with a political message. As early as 2001, the company provided the first Tibetan national football team with jerseys to go up against Greenland in a match that served as a political statement against China’s annexation of Tibet. Hummel also provided the Afghan Football Association with kits and organized a match between the Afghan women’s national team and a squad of NATO soldiers, despite the unrest at the time.
Impact of Sports 2024
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