With just over 100 members of all ages, from the U13 to the general class, the volleyteam südstadt is one of the largest volleyball clubs in Lower Austria. 15 trainers, who also come from the club, take care of the trainings that are held in Mödling and the surrounding area.
As one of the founding members of the Lower Austrian Volleyball Association, the club can look back on a long and successful sporting history, but does not forget to keep devoting itself to relevant future topics.
Chairman Andreas Trummer has long dealt with the question of how he can equip his players with ecologically and ethically correctly produced sportswear. There are a number of offers for individual sports – from yoga to mountaineering – but very few for team sports.
The search wasn’t easy
“We started looking for sustainably produced equipment early on,” says Andreas Trummer, “and so far we had to be content with shirts made of organic cotton that we could use in training for a while. For our U18 girls, thanks to the When top-level sport regulations are in use, we now wanted to have competition gear as well. “
In addition, cotton shirts consume enormous amounts of water; the production of a single shirt requires over 2,000 liters of water!
The search for a suitable partner was not easy – the high demands of the volley team with regard to sustainable production on the one hand and functionality on the other hand were not easy to meet.
“It is important for us to set an example with this campaign,” said the club chairman. “We want to position ourselves as a sustainable association, to aggressively convey this message to the outside world in order to address and win over new target groups – as active members of the association or as supporters from the public and private sectors.”
The officials and trainers know that a great deal of awareness-raising is still necessary for this, also within the association. Especially when it comes to sportswear.
The volleyteam südstadt wants to go a new way – away from mass consumption and fast fashion, which dominate almost all areas of life, sport.
New life for the polyester
Responsible and resource-saving shirts that are worn with appreciation for the product and for the spirit of the association, this thought led to a local producer who meets these requirements. For the Upper Austrian Klaus Buchroithner it was clear that he wanted to support the volley team’s project with his company “Das Merch”.
He and his team have been producing sustainable clothing since 2012, were able to set up their own production cycle and today manage to monitor the entire supply chain.
“Sport has always been interesting for us and we wanted to find a sports club for our ideas that, like us, wants to go the sustainable way,” says Klaus Buchroithner.
“The cooperation with the volleyteam südstadt and the development of sports suits made from recycled polyester are the first steps in the right direction. Recycled polyester gives a second life to a material that is not biodegradable and would possibly end up in the garbage dump. The recycled material is practically equivalent to the newly produced, but requires much less energy to manufacture. A shirt can be made from five empty PET bottles. “
The U18 players and their coach Lisi Brunner are also happy about the dresses and the sustainable approach. “We are simply moving Friday for Future to a Saturday and show that sustainable action is also possible in the sports hall”, Brunner is convinced.
About sustainability expert Jörg Meixner
Jörg Meixner accompanies sports clubs on their way to sustainable development. He designs initiatives and strategies that enable sustainable teamwork and make sport fit for the future. Sustainability in sport is teamwork – athletes, clubs, sponsors and public institutions have to cooperate intensively.
More and more clubs are taking their responsibility towards the environment and society seriously – write a comment and tell us what your idea is!
More information on the topic is also available on https://www.nachhaltiger-sport.at
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