The history of Ethletic sneakers did not begin with a sober business plan. It started with a ball. The world's first fairly produced football. Nor did the story of Ethletic sneakers begin in an air-conditioned office somewhere in a western city. It began in a production workshop in Pakistan. The idea of James Lloyd and Dr. Martin Kunz, the founders of the Ethletic brand, was to produce a new generation of footballs. In 1998, they launched the world's first fairly produced football.
Football is mainly made of rubber. Since there was no sustainability seal for rubber at the time, Martin Kunz set out to create one himself. Thanks to the initiative of the Forest Stewardship Council, the natural rubber from Sri Lanka used by Ethletic received certification for sustainable forest management — a world first. Ethletic is the first sports brand to voluntarily donate a special bonus out of conviction: since 1999, employees have received an additional bonus for their work, and since 2006 this support has also been applied to footwear production: initially, 15% of the purchase value was donated to the manufacturing company's Talon Fair Trade Workers' Welfare Association, and currently 1 USD per pair sold.
