Free Shirts, Big Environmental Costs
To the Sports Editor:
Re “Fans’ Uniform Look Is a Team Effort,” May 19: As a former Nike sports marketer, I admire eye-catching, creative efforts to build emotional ties among sports teams, stars and fans. As the executive director of the Council for Responsible Sport, I deplore overdone and wasteful attempts to generate brand impressions.
I get the picture-perfect impact of 20,000 yellow T-shirts on television when the Golden State Warriors play a home game in the playoffs. What I cannot reconcile is the fact that they’ve given away some 250,000 T-shirts during the last three seasons’ playoffs, yet as members of the Green Sports Alliance, they claim to care about the environment.