SUSTAINABLE JERSEYS AND TEAMWEAR.

Jerseys and team apparel are usually purchased at a sports store, from a catalog, or through an online store. This means your jersey was already manufactured long before you even decided to buy it.

At first glance, this has an advantage for you. Within a few days, the jersey—complete with the team logo, number, and name—is ready and waiting in your locker. However, this system poses a problem for the environment.

Traditional sportswear manufacturers must estimate in advance how many jerseys, shorts, jackets, or other products they will sell of a particular model. These forecasts can never be exact. The result is overproduction, unsold inventory, and, in the worst case, textile waste.

What's more, off-the-shelf catalog jerseys aren't made for your team. They're designed for as many clubs as possible at once, so they'll match a wide range of colors, logos, and target audiences. As a result, many catalog jerseys look interchangeable and lack a personal touch.

We take a different approach. We design each jersey individually for your team and only produce them once you place an order. No more, no less.

This is how team apparel is created that truly suits you—and it avoids a major drawback of traditional mass-produced goods: Production isn’t done on a speculative basis; instead, only what is actually needed is produced.

Sports brands release new jersey and teamwear designs every season. You can then order a new set for your team through retailers, online stores, or catalogs.

This works well at first. But when individual pairs of pants, jerseys, or sizes are missing, a problem arises. If the model is sold out or has been discontinued, you can no longer order replacement items that match. Sooner or later, you’ll have to get a completely new team kit—even though only a few individual items are actually missing.

This is exactly the kind of unnecessary waste we want to avoid. We design our products so that individual parts can be reordered even in the long term—even years later.

This extends the lifespan of your team apparel, prevents unnecessary reorders, and saves money. Jerseys designed with sustainability in mind are therefore not only better for the environment, but also more practical for every team.

Sustainable jerseys shouldn’t be evaluated solely based on materials, supply chains, or CO₂ emissions. Just as important are the people involved in the production process. Fair pay, safe working conditions, realistic production timelines, and treating production partners with respect are all part of what we consider responsible teamwear production.

Portugal is and will remain our most important production site. There, we work with select partners who are known for high-quality craftsmanship, short delivery routes within Europe, and reliable production structures. For us, Portugal is a location where quality, flexibility, and a more responsible approach to production come together very well.

At the same time, a simple “Made in Europe” or “Made in the EU” is not enough for us to consider it a promise of fairness. Working conditions vary from country to country, from region to region, and, above all, from company to company. That is why we look not only at the country of origin but also at the specific partner, the nature of the collaboration, the production conditions, and the requirements of each project.

In addition to Portugal, we now also produce select projects in Turkey. We do so deliberately and transparently. In certain areas, Turkey offers excellent opportunities in terms of materials, finishes, production speed, minimum order quantities, and pricing structure. At the same time, we know that this production location requires special care.

That’s why we work with select partners there as well and let you know upfront, before production begins, whether your project will be carried out in Portugal or Turkey. If a specific production location is particularly important to you, we’ll take that into account when planning and preparing a quote.

Our commitment remains the same: We don’t produce anonymous mass-market goods, but rather custom jerseys and team apparel made to order. Only when you place an order. Only as much as you need. And with clear communication about where your product is made.

Environmental impact, too, stems not only from the material itself, but from the entire production process. Key factors include: Where are the fabrics manufactured? Where is the sewing done? How far do individual components have to be transported? How much waste is generated? And is only what is ultimately needed actually produced?

That is why we manufacture a large portion of our jerseys and team apparel in Portugal. The short shipping distances within Europe, the proximity to key material suppliers, and the high quality of production help reduce waste and unnecessary transportation.

For example, our recycled polyester is manufactured in Spain. The yarn used to make it also comes from there. When as many components of a product as possible are produced within a single region, this can make a significant contribution to more sustainable and resource-efficient production.

At the same time, for us, sustainability does not automatically mean that the geographically closest production site is always the best solution. A jersey would not necessarily be more sustainable simply because it was produced in Germany. What matters is the interplay of materials, production partners, transportation routes, quality, durability, and whether the product is being manufactured unnecessarily in the first place.

That is precisely why we carefully consider every production route. Portugal remains a particularly important location for us. However, for certain requirements, another selected production site may be more appropriate—for example, if that location offers access to specific materials, special finishes, faster turnaround times, or more suitable production volumes.

Our goal always remains the same: as little waste as possible, no unnecessary overproduction, durable products, and transparent decisions about where and why production takes place.

Whenever available, we also use carbon-offset shipping options offered by our shipping providers.

Sustainability doesn't end with production. How you use and care for your jerseys also plays an important role.

When textiles are washed, tiny particles can be released from the fibers. In the case of synthetic materials such as polyester, these are often referred to as microplastics. These particles enter wastewater treatment plants via wastewater and can be carried from there into rivers, lakes, and oceans. Once they enter the environment, they are virtually impossible to remove completely.

That’s why we recommend that you wash our jerseys and team apparel as carefully as possible: at low temperatures, with a full load, without washing them unnecessarily often, and ideally using a laundry bag to prevent microplastic pollution—such as one from GUPPYFRIEND.

After all, more sustainable team apparel isn't just about how it's produced. It also depends on how long it's worn, cared for, and used. If you take good care of your jerseys, you'll extend their lifespan and reduce your environmental impact at the same time.

As little plastic packaging as possible

When you order jerseys from us, you'll notice a difference right away when they're delivered: We don't wrap our jerseys individually in plastic as a standard practice.

To us, it doesn't make sense to produce sustainably, use recycled polyester, and then unnecessarily wrap the finished products in plastic film. That's why we avoid individual plastic packaging whenever possible and use a minimalist packaging solution instead.

Upon request or for select commercial projects, we can also package individual jerseys in tissue paper or packing silk whenever possible. This is particularly suitable when the jerseys are to be handed over individually, sold, or presented as a higher-quality product.

Tissue paper is made of paper fibers and can usually be disposed of with the recycling bin. This way, we reduce our use of plastic packaging and stay true to our philosophy even when shipping our products: as little unnecessary material as possible, as little waste as possible.

In certain exceptional cases—such as with socks, knee-highs, or products that require special protection—protective packaging may still be necessary at this time to ensure that the products arrive clean and undamaged. Here, too, we are working to implement even better solutions that use less plastic in the future.

Fair Wear & External Focus

We would like to become a Fair Wear member in the future and have our processes monitored and audited by an external body. However, membership is not yet realistic for small brands like ours, as Fair Wear requires, among other things, a minimum annual revenue that we, as a small manufacturer of jerseys and team apparel, do not yet meet.

Nevertheless, we use publicly available information from Fair Wear and other sources as a guide to better understand production sites and supply chains. It’s important to note that Fair Wear is not a traditional product certification. It’s not about labeling a single jersey as “fair” with a simple seal. Rather, what matters most is the ongoing effort to improve production conditions.

For us, this means that we don't evaluate production sites across the board, but rather look at specific partners, purchasing practices, transparency, and local conditions.

Our goal is not simply to make the simplest possible promise about the origin of our products. Our goal is to make more responsible production decisions: with Portugal as our primary location, select additional partners, and complete transparency with you.

Portugal is and will remain our most important production site. We also use facilities in Spain and Poland for individual components or select products. These locations align with our commitment to planning production carefully, keeping shipping distances within Europe short, and working with select partners.

At the same time, Fair Wear shows that “Made in Europe” alone is not a reliable guarantee of fair production conditions. Working conditions vary not only from country to country, but above all from company to company. That is precisely why we look not only at the country of origin, but also at the specific production partner, the collaboration, transparency, and conditions on the ground.

We also consciously take this approach for projects we produce in Turkey. Turkey is a major textile hub with many technical capabilities, but it requires particularly careful selection of partners. That’s why, before production begins, we openly communicate where your product will be manufactured and why this location makes sense for your project.

Our goal is not simply to make the simplest possible promise about the origin of our products. Our goal is to make more responsible production decisions: with Portugal as our primary location, select additional partners, and full transparency toward our customers.

Sustainability is also a factor for us when choosing our business account. That’s why we chose GLS Bank, which is known for its socio-ecological banking model.

In this way, we want to ensure that our banking activities are consistent with our values. According to GLS Bank, it specifically finances social and environmental projects and is transparent about how it uses its customers’ funds.

For us, this is another small but deliberate step forward. Sustainability doesn’t end with the product. It also involves behind-the-scenes decisions—from production and packaging to the question of which partners we choose to work with as a company.