While we introduced the world’s first eco-certified basketball to the North American marketplace, we have a new (and very welcome) competitor from one of the largest players in the basketball space, Wilson.
Wilson recently unveiled their new “Green” basketball in conjunction with Earth Day; it is made from 40% recycled rubber. All we here at Fair Trade Sports can say is – well done!
Why do I say a new competitor is welcome to our little niche of the sporting goods world? Because one of the express goals of our company is to “encourage” the major multinationals brands in the sporting goods industry to follow our lead and get their own product lines eco-certified and Fair Trade Certified. The major sports equipment companies have all been dragging their feet when it comes to making environmentally-conscious products and adhering to Fair Trade tenets such as not using child labor and paying their adult workers a Fair Trade wage. Wilson is still dragging its feet on the issue of Fair Trade certification, but this is a step in the right direction for them and we should encourage them to continue down this positive path.
We’ve recently heard from friends that Nike’s first big environmental push will be declaring themselves to be carbon neutral. While this is an admirable step (once they actually do it; I’m only hearing this second hand), we should again encourage them to continue down this positive path and extend their thinking to the human rights issues behind the production of their products. The more success they have with products like their Trash Talk shoe and programs like Nike Grind, the more we can encourage them towards becoming a truly sustainable company. And to be clear, a truly sustainable company addresses the human rights issues of the supply chain openly and honestly.
Did our world’s-first eco-certified basketball have any influence on Wilson’s decision to bring out a eco-friendly basketball? I’d like to think, yes. They’ve got dozens of very bright marketing folks and product managers who are likely always looking for what’s next in sporting goods. Glad to see them experimenting with the eco-aspects of sports balls. I look forward to those same product managers talking to their own logistics managers about the Fair Trade aspects of their suppliers. Then we’ll see some good, positive progress on the related human rights issues.
