{"id":6429,"date":"2015-09-25T13:49:26","date_gmt":"2015-09-25T13:49:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/fitproblog.mysites.io\/fitness-fashion-fights-child-labour\/"},"modified":"2015-09-25T13:49:26","modified_gmt":"2015-09-25T13:49:26","slug":"fitness-fashion-fights-child-labour","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fitpro.com\/blog\/fitness-fashion-fights-child-labour\/","title":{"rendered":"Fitness fashion fights child labour"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sports Philosophy is a London-based sportswear brand focusing on top-quality performance wear aimed at 25-40 year olds, but it claims to be so<\/em> much more than pretty prints and volcanic tank tops. Olivia Hubbard talks to co-founder Stella Heng\u00a0<\/strong>to find out more.<\/p>\n

The brand<\/strong><\/h3>\n

It\u2019s certainly been a hectic time for Stella Heng. She spends a few moments talking to me after whizzing around the city of London to help voice the company\u2019s #MySportsPhilosophy campaign. After years in the corporate world, Heng felt the desire for change. So, alongside Matthias Tietze, she launched a brand with a difference. \u201cIn terms of the core principal of Sports Philosophy,\u201d begins Heng, \u201cwhat we attempted to do was to create a company that bridges the gap between the for- profit and non-profit in order to try and offer a more progressive approach to corporate sustainability. We looked at the issues on the non-profit that we wanted to focus on and what kind of social issues in particular we wanted to explore \u2013 it was during this research period that the company decided to focus its efforts on child labour.\u201d<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

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Stella Heng, co-founder and creative director, and Matthias Tietze, co-founder and CEO<\/p><\/div>\n

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She continues, \u201cThe whole sportswear idea came about through looking at the garment industry, which is widely known as being affected by child labour. We then looked at a more niche area before singling out sportswear, which was really compelling and a market that at the time was really growing.\u201d<\/em><\/strong> All of the materials for the Sports Philosophy brand are sourced from Italy and the products are made in Portugal. All of the fabrics are performance fabrics, combining sweat wicking, moisture management, good stretch and comfortable feel.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe also have some pieces that feature compression fabric,\u201d says Heng. \u201cFor example, the men\u2019s shorts have a compression layer on the inside and likewise for the women\u2019s leggings. As well as the leggings benefiting from compression fabric, they are also made from using recycled polyamide material.\u201d Heng admits it\u2019s easy when something looks nice to be persuaded to buy an item of clothing before you have actually considered how that item is going to benefit your workout. \u201cSometimes, it\u2019s difficult to really understand what compression really means in some ways, as the research itself doesn\u2019t always give you a clear answer,\u201d she adds.<\/p>\n

\u201cI do think more and more people have become savvier,\u201d she tells me. \u201cIndividuals have switched from just wearing cotton to using more performance-based materials. I think men in particular are more likely to look at the performance side of clothing and women may focus on the more fashionable side of things, but that\u2019s what we\u2019ve tried to combine with our collection.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Inspiration behind those prints<\/strong><\/h3>\n

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