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Sweaty Betty is one of a handful of activewear brands that emerged in the 2000s and quickly became loved for its stylish workout clothes that could transcend the gym. Unfortunately, like many of its competitors, Sweaty Betty isn’t doing enough to be sustainable, and it rates “Not Good Enough”. Read on to discover why.
This article is based on the Sweaty Betty rating from April 2024 and may not reflect claims the brand has made since then.
A leader in activewear, but not in sustainability
Sweaty Betty is an activewear brand founded in the UK at the end of the 1990s by Tamara Hill-Norton, who wanted to contrast the “dark and boring” exercise gear of the era with colourful clothes that could make people feel good. Over the next two and a half decades, the brand grew to be a leader of a new generation of activewear brands characterised by higher priced, more fashion-forward and Instagrammable workout clothes. At last count, Sweaty Betty had more than 60 boutiques around the world, plus a host of department store concessions.
In 2021, Sweaty Betty was bought for US$410 million by Wolverine Worldwide, which owns brands including Cat Footwear, Hush Puppies, and Merrell. And most recently, the brand announced a refreshed e-commerce experience aimed at rapid growth around the world, particularly in the US. But as it expands, we have to ask: are Sweaty Betty’s sustainability credentials up to scratch? Is the brand working responsibly as it scales up?
Environmental impact
Sweaty Betty isn’t doing enough for the environment and receives a “Not Good Enough” score in this area.
That’s because there’s no evidence to suggest it is taking actions to protect biodiversity in its supply chain, nor is there evidence that it’s on track to meet its science-based target to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in both its direct operations and supply chain. And while it says it’s phasing out harmful chemical finishes on its clothes, there are no numbers to back up this statement and we couldn’t find anything else to suggest the brand is taking meaningful action to reduce or eliminate hazardous chemicals in manufacturing.
Sweaty Betty has made some basic progress, like moving to recycled plastic garment bags and paperless returns. It says it’s in the process of moving to recyclable paper packaging for its mailers, and it has take-back schemes in some of its stores. It’s also using some lower-impact materials.
Elsewhere, the brand has shared plans that it wants to meet by 2025, including offering repair and resale services, and aiming to eliminate single-use virgin plastic from its business operations, but the brand can’t be considered more sustainable just because it has made a promise—we need to see evidence of its actions and achievements.
Labour conditions
Sweaty Betty’s mission statement says that it’s “on a mission to empower all women through fitness and beyond. And it starts with our responsibility to our planet and our people.” But its labour conditions rating says otherwise because we rate the brand “Very Poor”.
The gender pay gap for Sweaty Betty’s UK staff has grown wider in recent years, and in April 2024, the brand was ranked as having one of the biggest gender pay gaps of any company of its size in the UK. The Evening Standard reported that “The median woman at the company makes 46.2p for every pound made by men there.” And that’s only in the brand’s UK offices and stores, never mind its global supply chain, which we couldn’t find any reporting on.
There’s no evidence that workers in the supply chain are paid a living wage, or that it provides financial security to its suppliers, which is important for ensuring better working conditions and wages on the whole.
Animal welfare
Sweaty Betty isn’t doing well for animals, either—here it rates “Not Good Enough”. Again, there’s little proof of its actions in this area. In particular, we couldn’t find evidence that it has an animal welfare policy—essential for any brand that incorporates animal-derived materials in its products.
And while it doesn’t appear to use leather, fur, angora, or exotic animal skins, the brand does use wool and exotic animal hair, including a yak and merino wool-blend. There’s no evidence that the brand prohibits mulesed merino wool, which is an important issue for animal welfare, and it says the yak wool is sourced from “a social enterprise that has built a transparent supply chain ensuring the highest quality of animal husbandry.” Sweaty Betty states that all the down used in its products is recycled and meets the Global Recycling Standard (GRS).
Overall rating: ‘Not Good Enough’
Overall, Sweaty Betty rates “Not Good Enough”—that’s the second-worst rating on our five-point scale, and it means that the brand either isn’t publishing sufficient information about its practices, or that it just isn’t taking enough action to manage its impact.
On top of that, the brand still needs to address key issues such as implementing an animal welfare policy and ensuring the workers in its supply chain are paid a living wage. And with 89% of its employees being women, Sweaty Betty urgently needs to close its gender pay gap.
The brand shows some signs of reporting its progress and intentions through the “where we’re at” and “where we’re going” sections on its sustainability web pages, and that’s a good first step, but in many cases, the text doesn’t include the depth of information or data that is needed for us, and consumers like you, to hold Sweaty Betty accountable for its actions. It should be easy for everyone to find out exactly how a brand is impacting people, the planet, and animals, and right now, that’s just not the case for Sweaty Betty.
With that, then, we’ve found some more sustainable activewear brands that you can look to in place of Sweaty Betty the next time you need to replace your workout gear.
Good swaps
More ethical and sustainable alternatives to Sweaty Betty.
