News Article

Our Brands Giving Back in 2020

Several of our brands provided product donations and funds to support organizations and communities in 2020.

  • Our Sherrin brand worked with the Australian Football League (AFL), the governing body of Australian Rules Football and long-term brand partner, to provide relief from the brushfires affecting the South Coast of Australia during 2020.“Many regions impacted by the brushfires were the heartland of grassroots support for the AFL,” said Chris Lambert, Managing Director of Sherrin. Sherrin and the AFL worked together to create a custom football, in an orange color to reflect the colors worn by State Emergency Service workers. The ball included 230 grassroots AFL clubs from towns impacted by the fires. In addition to being used in a charity fundraiser game led by the AFL, 100% of proceeds from the sale of the balls benefited the impacted communities.
  • Fruit of the Loom participated in a Buy Some, Gift Some program and donated products to help transform the lives of families transitioning out of homelessness. This program on Fruit.com was a partnership with the nonprofit Humble Design in Detroit, Chicago and Seattle. In total, 38,885 home furnishing pieces were donated to Humble Design in 2020.
  • Spalding made a financial contribution to the Mamba and Mambacita Sports Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to creating a positive impact for athletes and young women in sports in underserved communities. This foundation was created through the vision and memory of Kobe and Gianna Bryant, who were killed in a helicopter crash in 2020. Spalding has partnered with KOBE INC. since 2017 on a three-year collaboration.

  • Russell Athletic launched a Buy One, Give One program entitled Hope for Hospitals, an initiative dedicated to donating everyday essentials to hospital staff across the U.S. Between May 5 and May 31, 2020, for every Russell Athletic quarter-zip sweatshirt purchased on RussellAthletic.com, the brand donated one quarter-zip or a similar item to a healthcare hero. Over 2,000 garments were donated to frontline workers through the campaign.
  • Russell Athletic also partnered with the NJ Skateshop team to help support local shops with sales declines due to the pandemic. Throughout the partnership, community skate shops received custom Russell Athletic Classic Cotton T-shirts to support their businesses. In total, 286 products were donated to the local skate shops during this report timeframe.