Hummel / Yeh Group - Without Water.
Environment, sustainability, innovation, philosophy, community - presenting a strategic alliance.
Presented with the opportunity to focus on two subjects close to my heart – the environment and football – this project was something of a labour of love. Working with Danish sports brand Hummel and Thailand based fabric manufacturer Yeh Group, my brief was to present environmentally focussed innovation to eight professional football clubs here in the UK.
With water scarcity now affecting almost half of the world’s population, and around 2 billion people without access to safe drinking water, this was to be a strategic alliance that could make a real difference, by putting the colour into football – without water.
Environmental impact.
It takes 25 litres of water (that’s 50 of those bottles we see in the supermarket fridge) to dye and process just one football shirt, and the games biggest clubs sell up to 2 million of those shirts per year.
This is why the fashion industry is a major contributor to water pollution, responsible for about 20% of the world's wastewater. In fact, every two years it takes the entire volume of the Mediterranean Sea to put the colours we love into our clothes.
Yeh Group innovation.
The Yeh Group has developed a reputation for entrepreneurial innovation through early investment into digital printing, the establishing of strategic partners in garmenting and lamination and being the first to set up an industrial CO2 dye house.
This allows polyester fabrics to be dyed without the use of any water, and today the ‘drydye’ technology supplies over 10 million square metres of sustainably dyed fabrics to the world.
‘Drydye’ without water.
During traditional dyeing vast amounts of water are heated, chemicals are added together with dye stuffs and eventually exhausted into treatment tanks where more chemicals are added to neutralise the liquid, all of this before returning to the natural water system.
‘Drydye’ uses no water, it uses only pure dye stuffs and Co2, and even that is recycled. With ‘drydye’ the same level of colour and colour options as traditional dyeing methods can be achieved – without water.
Hummel company karma.
Hummel seek to grow sustainably and have done so for more than 20 years. Through their ‘purpose’ projects they aim to have a true impact by initiating change and supporting others to do the same.
Challenging conventions, fighting for empowerment and inclusivity, all while celebrating the game, Hummel’s ‘Company Karma Strategy’ and their 3 P's – purpose, planet, people - are a long-term commitment to make a difference.
Football’s global platform.
According to the United Nations, sport has played a pivotal role in achieving the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals, and as a prominent global sport, football holds a unique position.
Football is a universal language spoken by people of all ages, transcending national, cultural, and socio-economic boundaries. This shared passion creates a sense of community that makes the game such a powerful platform for delivering an environmental message.
Football clubs are not oblivious to environmental problems, and many in the UK have hired heads of sustainability or formalised the role. The issue is also being brought into focus more and more by players, club staff, and above all, supporters.
Football has the potential to play a major role in tackling problems relating to the climate crisis, through reducing its own impact and by recognising behavioural change in supporters. Its global platform is unique, and its reach vast.
Presented to the marketing teams from 8 clubs, the strategy led to the ‘ZEROH2O’ campaign which saw each team wearing Hummel shirts coloured using the Yeh Group ‘drydye’ process (see brand creative case study).
Eight clubs - Zero H2O.
Project undertaken when Creative Director at Seventy7 Group.