When buying a piece of sportswear, whether a new pair of Nike trainers or an Adidas sweat shirt, the vast majority of us (including myself) will look for price, quality and brand. The brand of a piece of sportswear is ultimately the most important aspect of consumer choice; consumers look for durability, performance but most importantly reputation. The brand of any item of sportswear is powerful and can make or break a purchase. Most recently the environmental, ethical and moral side of a brand is also becoming increasingly important in consumer choice. In the 1990s sports brands such as Nike came under intense scrutiny for child labour and unsafe working conditions under sub contracted factories, whilst long hours and minimal pay meant no rights for foreign workers. But despite this ‘blip’ in Nike’s brand, the sportswear still remains as popular as ever.

Nike is 2016 still produces the trendiest running shoe and boasts a reputation as an Olympic sponsor. Furthermore in November 2015 its profits were up 20 per cent as reported by the BBC and with the backing of star such as Wayne Rooney and Elle Goulding, and its timeless logo ‘just do it’ it’s not hard to see why the brand remains so successful. Additionally another reason explaining its continued success even after the allegations in the 1990s is because Nike never denied or covered up there use of child labour; instead they openly sought to deal with their ethical problems. In fact, they became world leaders themselves in promoting better working conditions, and fairer work practices. They had a leading role in the FLA (fair labour association) and in 2011 signed a leading trade agreement in Indonesia supporting labour rights.

Nike was also progressive in encouraging other sportswear brands such as Adidas and Puma to discourage exploitation too. Nike now works firmly in line with a responsible code of conduct for worker’s and also has each of its factories monitored and assessed by an independent company. Yet some of its targets are perhaps too ambitions, for instance last year 68 per cent of its factories were rated ‘bronze or better’, failing to reach bronze suggests that some of its factories were only meeting the minimum legal requirements for workers. Whilst Nike may be aiming to ‘place the worker at the heart of the workplace’ it seems that it’s still a long way off from achieving its ethical goal.

More recently Nike has focused its attention on being ‘green’, and aims to achieve a 20 per cent decline in C02 emissions from footwear manufacturing by 2020. In fact, Nike has put environmental concern firmly into its business model, persuasively it aims to make ‘sustainability the catalyst’ for how they do business. Indeed its plans on the environment are certainly progressive, for example new Nike ‘ColorDry’ technology uses green chemistry and water stewardship to prevent harmful substances from entering the local water supply.

Lycra liberates and empowers women

Environmentalism, human rights and sustainability have helped Nike recover as a leading sportswear brand. Nike has gone from being ethically evil to a superhero in sustainability. Whilst Nike is taking steps to become a more ethically conscious brand, there are other brands which actively promote ethical sportswear, there are ones to look out for.

Buying the right sportswear is not only about performance. Questioning its sustainability and ethics might not make you a better sports player, but it will make you a better person and hopefully create a better planet.

Shop eco: Top ethical brands

Howies – howies.co.uk

Yew Clothing – yewclothing.com

THTC – shop.thtc.co.uk