Agenda-setting intelligence, analysis and advice for the global fashion community.

How Sports Partnerships Are Making Fashion’s Waste Problem Worse

Sportswear giants like Nike and Adidas churn out mountains of apparel and equipment for their sponsored teams each season, the bulk of which ends up in the trash. Now, start-ups and designers are trying to reduce waste by upcycling this unused merch.

upcycling, waste, football, sport, sustainability, Miami, Inter Miami, David Beckham — Reboot founder Gabriella Mas convinced Inter Miami CF, the Major League Soccer team part-owned by David Beckham, to be the first partner of her ambitious upcycling and waste elimination venture. (Reboot)

Daniel-Yaw Miller

04 August 2023

BoF PROFESSIONAL

In a single season, Major League Soccer — North America’s top football competition — goes through 13,000 pairs of cleats and 5,000 balls. These products, along with thousands more jerseys, shorts and socks worn by players throughout a 34-game schedule, will largely end up in the bin after eight months in use.

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Why Luxury Brands Want in on Football

Fashion and football have a complicated history, but labels from Dior to Moncler now see major opportunities in the world’s most popular sport.

Do Sports Leagues Need ‘Creative Directors’?

Major League Soccer tapped streetwear designer Guillermo Andrade to be its creative advisor, hoping his cultural cachet will make the sport more popular in the US.

Big Brands Are Taking Back Unwanted Clothes. Where Do They Go?

Companies like H&M and Primark are increasingly offering to take back unwanted clothes for resale and recycling. Instead they can end up downcycled, destroyed or dumped, according to a new report from Changing Markets Foundation.

About the author

Daniel-Yaw Miller

Daniel-Yaw Miller is a contributing writer at The Business of Fashion. Miller is a New York based journalist, editor and advisor who specialises in sports, fashion and business.

In This Article

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Organisations

Virgil Abloh Archive Begins a New Era with Nike

Nike’s first official shoe release with the Virgil Abloh Archive begins its launch cycle this week.

Why Adidas Is Suing a Sneaker Leaker

The activewear giant’s legal action against the popular sneaker news site Sole Retriever exposes hidden fault lines in the industry's relationship with the media that covers it.

Adidas’ Power Play Against Leakers

Adidas filed one of the strangest lawsuits that you’ll see in sneakers. It could have implications for how consumers get their information moving forward.

Fashion Needs to Get Active in Women’s Sports

Women’s sports are booming and fashion is missing out, according to new analysis from Bank of America.

Why H&M’s Sustainability Report Is So Unusual

The Swedish fast-fashion retailer is one of a shrinking number of companies that’s still drawing attention to its emissions goals. Plus, a Shanghai Fashion Week preview.

The Industry That Eats Its Young

Small fashion labels have always been shortchanged by their wholesale partners. A wave of high-profile bankruptcies has turned a structural injustice into an existential crisis. There is a better way to do business, writes Imran Amed.

The Zara-Fication of John Galliano

Fashion’s enfant terrible is trading exclusivity for the mass market. Is it the ultimate fashion coup, or the final surrender of prestige?

The Impact of War on Fashion’s Supply Chain

Textile hubs are already feeling the cascading risks of the conflict in Iran as Washington ramps up forced labour probes to revive tariffs, while decarbonisation in fashion’s factories might finally have a standard to go off of.

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