The climate hypocrite chronicles #1: sponsorship

If we care about the Big Kerfufflefuck, can we still be a sponsored athlete?

Sportswear brands are part of The Problem, albeit some more than others. Every sponsored athlete or ambassador is a type of salesperson, potentially adding to the overconsumption crisis. Again, some more than others.

Elite and sponsored (not always the same thing) runners who care about the climate and ecological emergency find themselves living this awkward contradiction. I know of three who’ve boldly eschewed commercial support (which I really admire) and several who really care about the right stuff but remain sponsored (which I really admire too).

For context, sponsorship can range from a free pair of daps to a significant stipend. Sporting careers can be short and end in one miss-placed foot. In the UK, performance-enhancing support is elusive and precious. In some cases, giving up sponsorship could be financial and competitive suicide.

A recent study showed sportspeople are the most influential people on the planet. Some elite athletes who care 'speak up' and I know several who care but stay quiet. Research shows that the threat of being called a hypocrite is one of three main reasons athletes don't talk about this stuff publically.

I regularly evaluate whether I'm okay with the conflict of being, if you will, a sponsored activist, and I’m not sure my mind has totally settled. But here are my current thoughts.

The first two things that spring to mind are…

1. If I walk away, I have no influence. If I stay, I have some.

How much, I don't know. But there are regular conversations, I feel listened to and inov-8 have made several improvements in the last few years. That said, this argument doesn’t hold up if I replace inov-8 with Shell or PB. That’s another level entirely.

2. It feels important to show a middle way, where we can care about a liveable planet without giving everything fun up*. It's okay to continue doing the things that bring us joy, says How Bad Are Bananas?-author Mike Burners-Lee. But, of course, with less impact where possible.

It's important not to pretend to be perfect. No one can be. Adding to the illusion could put people off joining in the merry jamboree in the first place. There has to be a middle ground, where people who care about the Big Kerfufflefuck might also reluctantly get on a plane occasionally, do a solo-occupant car journey or accidentally leave their laptop on standby overnight (gasp!). People who care are already making sacrifices and suffering emotionally. To be perfect, in our current system, is simply impossible. And climate action doesn’t need more saints.

For me, two more things are key...

A. Brand behaviour

inov-8 have been my primary sponsor for seven years and I wouldn't have achieved some of the things I have without them. They’ve gone above and beyond for me several times (crewing at UTMB for example – a job I don’t envy anyone), been forgiving, patient and thoughtful. Though they’re not a charity. There’s an unsaid assumption that being associated with me may sell more daps.

EthicalConsumer.org rank them in the top third of ethical sportswear brands. I know inov-8 employees care impressively deeply about the climate emergency and progress is happening. As well as greater product durability, some important but unsexy stuff is going on at factory level (sadly can't go into details).

inov-8 also provide a platform for awareness and have been supportive of me banging on about this stuff, despite it not always being complimentary; promoting my book, for example, which is pretty damning of the sportswear industry.

Could they do more? Yes. And I'll continue to nudge them. I’ve nudged all my sponsors, which has led me saying goodbye or no thanks to some (teehee). In fact several ethical decisions have negatively affected my income and possibly my running career (but I don’t regret them).

B. Ambassador behaviour

inov-8 apply very little pressure to directly promote their products, asking maybe once or twice a year. If I believe in a dap and especially its durability, I happily do that – with a caveat about our overconsumption crisis. Take a look down my Instagram feed or whatever it’s called, if you can be bothered. I ain’t a very good salesperson/ambassador. Not directly anyway. But of course, it’s more nuanced than that. Subtly, I’m a constant salesperson for a brand while I’m publically associated with them. That’s the deal.
In terms of directly promoting products, I only do that for things I believe in, which I've often helped a little to develop. I appreciate not every ambassador has the confidence in their sponsorship relationship that I do. This stuff’s not easy. #FirstWorldProblems

There’s a chance of course that I rationalise things this way because I like being sponsored.

We aren’t the problem

It’s important to zoom out a little. From writing this to making a cuppa, almost every action emits greenhouse gases (ghg), so we're all automatically and unavoidably hypocrites on some level if we care. And, like Jonathan Pie says, I'd much rather be a hypocrite than an arsehole.

People like us aren't the problem. The richest 1% cause double the CO2e of the poorest 50% (a stunning 75 times higher if you include investments, a more recent study shows). 100 companies created 71% of global ghg. Big Oil are the problem.

Ultimately running is a good thing, I need some daps to do it in (and a wrag for my ever-growing forehead) and I'd be wearing mostly inov-8 clobber anyway.

I’m not telling anyone else how to behave, just sharing my thoughts on an imperfect situation. I'm doubtless a massive hypocrite to some. But when I think it through out loud, I'm currently mostly – but still not entirely – okay with the contradiction of being a sponsored athlete and speaking out about our climate and ecological emergency.

If I keep doing posts like this, however, the decision may be out of my hands 😆

*For the record, I have been vegan for three years, have my family's footprint independently audited by Our Carbon, have reduced my flying from three time a year to twice in five years, co-founded The Green Runners, wrote a book about all this stuff (which was exhausting), and regularly go to protests. But I don’t think a runner needs to do even half of that in order to feel they can ‘speak up’. That needs a better phrase – it’s just talking about things we care about.