Regulation used to be something brands reacted to. Now, it’s something that reveals whether a business can compete. For sports and outdoor leaders, sustainability regulations aren’t background noise anymore, they shape how products are designed, how supply chains are managed, and how brands are judged by partners and consumers alike.
New frameworks like the EU’s Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation are expanding requirements for durability, reparability, and transparency across physical goods, not just energy-related categories, forcing brands to rethink product lifecycles early. And with textile Extended Producer Responsibility schemes rolling out in the EU, where around 12.6 million metric tons of textile waste are generated annually, yet only about 1% is recycled, regulatory readiness is becoming a financial reality, not a theoretical risk.
At ISPO 2025 experts discussed that today, the smartest brands are not waiting for rules to land. They are anticipating, adapting, and using sustainability regulations as a signal for capability, innovation, and resilience, turning policy change into strategic advantage. Keep reading to understand how.
Why Are the Rules of the Game Changing Faster?
A core shift in the regulatory landscape is not just new rules, it’s speed and scope. Traditional environmental regulations focused on emissions or waste streams in a single category. Today’s sustainability regulations are multi-layered and overlapping. The ESPR expands design requirements across all physical goods, including apparel and footwear, rather than just energy-related products. It mandates digital product passports, bans on destroying unsold goods, and stronger reporting on product characteristics starting as early as 2026.
Gillian Rosh, Education & Advocacy Strategic Lead at Protect Our Winters (POW) Europe, points out that policy is moving faster because the climate and resource realities are moving faster. Regulators are under pressure to act, and that urgency shows up in how quickly expectations evolve.
For sports brands operating globally, this creates complexity. Sustainability regulations are interpreted differently across regions. What works in one market may not be enough in another. Fragmentation adds pressure on product teams, sourcing teams, and compliance functions.
Marie Nawrocki, Legal Advisor for Sustainability Law and Product Conformity at Decathlon, emphasizes that many brands underestimate how early regulation enters product development. By the time a regulation becomes “final,” most design decisions are already locked in.
At the same time, pressure does not come only from policymakers. Retailers want verified data. Consumers expect proof, not promises. NGOs and investors ask tougher questions. Sustainability regulations are now reinforced by market expectations, which makes inaction riskier than early action. Research from S&P Global also shows that companies with weaker environmental performance often face higher borrowing costs than peers with stronger ESG profiles.
Regulations Reveal Weak Systems and Strengthen Strong Ones
Sustainability regulations are revealing a simple business reality: where systems are weak, risks become real costs. Retailers and consumers are no longer satisfied with marketing claims. In the UK, the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) banned Google ads from major brands like Nike and Lacoste for broad, unsubstantiated sustainability claims, a clear sign that regulatory enforcement is now applying to environmental marketing itself.
This enforcement reflects a broader trend: brands must now prove their claims with data, traceability, and third-party verification. Non-compliance or vague communication hurts both market access and brand credibility.
In response, many markets are moving toward mandatory systems like Digital Product Passports (DPPs), which are electronic records linked to products that store verified sustainability data over the product’s lifecycle. DPPs, now required under ESPR frameworks, are designed to improve transparency and accountability, but they also require significant investment in data systems and cross-functional operations.
Angelique Thummerer, Co-founder of TURNS, which is a startup working on circular solutions, points out that sustainability regulations can either unlock innovation or limit it. When brands rush to meet minimum requirements, they often rely on familiar solutions instead of exploring new systems or materials.
Turning Regulations into Competitive Advantage
Regulation is sometimes framed as a cost. But a strong body of academic and industry evidence suggests that it can drive efficiency, innovation, and competitive positioning when treated as a strategic signal. This idea aligns with the “Porter Hypothesis”, which suggests that strict environmental regulation can spur efficiency and technological innovation that ultimately improves competitiveness. According to this perspective, the costs of compliance can be offset by long-term gains from innovation, improved resource use, and market leadership advantages.
In practice, companies that embrace sustainability regulations early gain insights into cost structures, product lifecycles, and internal data quality long before competitors. They also build capabilities in areas that become necessary for future rules, not optional add-ons.
To illustrate, consider the concept of ‘Design for the Environment’ (DfE). This approach, used widely in product engineering to minimize environmental impact across a lifecycle, is now being embedded into regulatory frameworks and industry standards. A brand that aligns product plants with DfE principles gains both compliance and innovation capability at once.
Similarly, case studies from outside sports, such as Patagonia’s take-back programs and Unilever’s sustainable sourcing plans, show that brands that embed regulatory foresight into strategy often build stronger customer trust and operational resilience.
Data, Traceability, and the Digital Backbone
Across all discussions on sustainability regulations, one theme keeps returning: data. Or, it can be said that if regulation is changing what brands must do, data is the tool that determines how well they can do it.
Reliable data systems help in:
- Tracking materials and substances throughout the supply chain
- Proving compliance to different regulatory frameworks
- Supporting marketing claims with verifiable evidence
- Providing transparency to retailers, consumers, and regulators alike
According to industry analysts, lack of reliable supply-chain data is one of the biggest barriers to effective sustainability regulation compliance across sectors. Brands that invest early in traceability systems stand to gain not just compliance, but operational insight that improves sourcing, forecasting, and risk management.
This challenge becomes especially visible when requirements extend beyond direct operations into supplier and customer data, where information is often incomplete, delayed, or inconsistent. In this sense, sustainability regulations are revealing data maturity as a key competitive asset. Brands that treat data as infrastructure rather than reporting paperwork are better positioned to adapt, respond, and innovate.
What Sports Brands Should Do Now?
For sports brands, the practical focus must shift from compliance checklists to strategic capability building:
- Map Regulatory Exposure Early: Understand where sustainability regulations like ESPR and EPR apply to your products and markets. Early mapping prevents last-minute surprises.
- Integrate Regulation With Product Strategy: Design teams must think in terms of regulatory parameters, not just product performance.
- Invest in Data Infrastructure: Traceability, digital product passports, and supplier data systems are investments that pay off in agility and trust.
- Use Regulation as a Signal for Innovation: Regulatory requirements often codify emerging best practices. Brands that use them as triggers for innovation can leapfrog competitors.
To summarize, organizations that build regulatory readiness into strategic planning gain more than compliance, they gain operational resilience and market credibility.
Consumer and Market Expectations Are Aligning With Sustainability Regulations
Regulation is only part of the story. Consumer expectations and market behaviors are reinforcing regulatory impact. Research shows that a significant share of consumers, especially Gen Z, prioritize sustainability attributes in purchasing decisions. While specific statistics vary by region, global estimates suggest that over half of consumers in many developed markets prefer brands that transparently communicate environmental performance. Armed with regulation-driven product passports and verified sustainability claims, these brands can build deeper trust and differentiation.
Additionally, consumers are increasingly wary of “greenwashing”, broad sustainability statements that lack evidence. Regulatory enforcement actions like UK advertising bans of sustainability claims, as we saw above, illustrate how serious authorities are about requiring proof, not promises. In this shifting environment, regulations and market expectations are converging to reward clarity, verification, and accountability.
Adapting Faster Is the New Competitive Edge
Sustainability regulations are not temporary. They are reshaping how sports brands design, source, and operate. Resilient brands do not wait for perfect clarity. They build flexibility, learn continuously, and adapt faster than competitors.
The takeaway for B2B leaders is simple: the brands that adapt early will not just comply. They will compete better.
