Intersport Sweden – the country’s leading sporting goods retailer, founded in 1968 and with nearly 100 stores – has announced a partnership with the non-profit organization Canopy to promote forest-friendly supply chains. The aim is to set important signs for the world’s forests, species and climate. Intersport Sweden thus joins more than 520 fashion designers and apparel brands worldwide with total sales of more than $886 billion that have already adopted the CanopyStyle guidelines. Intersport is committed to eliminating the sourcing of textiles from the world’s virgin forests from its supply chains and driving the production of next-generation, low-carbon, circular alternatives.
Forest protection has been identified by the world’s leading scientists as an essential part of the solution to the climate problem and is critical to keeping global warming below 1.5°C by 2030. Achieving this level of protection will require transforming “take, make, waste” supply chains, phasing out the sourcing from the world’s virgin and endangered forests, and urgently introducing next-generation alternatives – such as textiles made from recycled fabrics or agricultural residues.
An estimated 92 million tons of apparel waste is generated globally each year. Reusing this waste stream to produce new textiles not only results in significant environmental savings but can also help protect more than 300 million trees, many from vital forests, from annual deforestation for viscose. Canopy, and now Intersport Sweden, are part of a growing movement to make the use of next-generation solutions the norm.
“At Intersport Sweden, we believe in responsible business and know that the success of our company is inextricably linked to protecting the rights of people, animals and the environment,” said Hanna Wolff, production & sustainability coordinator at Intersport Sweden. “We are pleased to become a CanopyStyle partner to continue on this path. The sports and apparel sector can work to ensure that textiles derived from forests, such as viscose and lyocell, are not sourced from vital forests and switch to more environmentally sustainable alternatives. Intersport Sweden is committed to doing just that by supporting Canopy.”
