Give new life to your old sportswear: hummel joins fight against throwaway culture with new recycling universe

An old training jersey, a pair of worn-out shoes, or perhaps a too-small snowsuit for your kid.

This is a familiar scenario for most of us. Over time, our wardrobes get filled with outdated clothes and shoes, leading us to discard them to create space for newer items.

In response to the growing throwaway culture, the Danish sportswear brand hummel has launched a new recycling universe. This initiative empowers consumers to renew their used hummel clothing and make a positive impact on the environment.

“We want to take responsibility for the products we introduce into the market, which is why we have established a new recycling universe. When our customers send back their old hummel products, we are dedicated to recycling or reselling them," states Allan Vad Nielsen, CEO of hummel.

The recycling universe named re.hummel is a part of hummel’s new loyalty program, which enables customers to earn points by returning their old hummel products – regardless of both condition and place of purchase.

The goal is to promote the idea of circular shopping that avoids the disposal of old garments when purchasing new ones.

“Our primary objective is to prolong the lifespan of our products and, more importantly, inspire our customers to take part in the circular economy. We want our customers to be mindful of their existing clothing, and thus, we strive to reward them every time they help us give new life to our old products,” Allan Vad Nielsen concludes.

To establish the new recycling universe, hummel has teamed up with create2STAY. The ambition for hummel is to eventually sell the returned products through its own e-commerce platform.

"As this is a new project, we don't have sufficient data yet to assess the exact proportion of products that can be reused or recycled. However, we recognize that achieving full clothing recycling is not currently a reality and comes with its own set of challenges. Nevertheless, we view it as an important step forward on the journey to creating a more circular shopping experience," Allan Vad Nielsen finishes.