Business is booming for On Running—the Swiss sportswear brand founded in 2010 is now challenging behemoths like Nike and adidas. But the brand only rates “It’s a Start”, showing that it’s not as committed to transparency and sustainability as you’d expect from an innovator like this. Read on to discover where On Running is making progress, and where it’s falling short.
This article is based on the On Running rating from February 2025 and may not reflect claims the brand has made since then.
On Running’s sustainability is, well, off
Founded in 2010 by former athlete Olivier Bernhard alongside David Allemann and Caspar Coppetti, On Running has gone from strength to strength, tripling its net profit from 2023 to 2024, and forecasting further growth in 2025. The brand pioneered CloudTec cushioning—a significant driver of its success—which Bernhard developed by experimenting with gluing pieces of a garden hose to the sole of sneakers to create a new, more cushioned landing for the wearer.
Just 15 years after its inception, the brand is now a major competitor to Nike, which has continued to lose market share to newer and more innovative brands like On Running in recent years. In fact, Bernhard actually pitched the CloudTec concept to Nike but was rejected, which prompted him to launch On Running.
Consumers’ affinity for CloudTec and their increasing shift away from Nike shows that brands can’t simply rest on their laurels when it comes to product development—and sustainability, too. The latter is particularly important for sportswear companies given the issues with chemicals in technical fabrics, the heavy use of polyester, and the challenges associated with recycling or disposing of sneakers. But despite that, McKinsey reports that sporting goods companies’ commitments to sustainability are declining in 2025. So, is On Running leading the pack in this area, too? Is it committed enough to more responsible production to keep customers coming back for the long haul?
On Running may have positioned itself as an innovative challenger to the world’s biggest sports brands, but it isn’t pushing many boundaries with its sustainability, and only receives our middling “It’s a Start” rating. Scroll on to read more about why it’s not there yet and what the brand can do better.
Environmental impact
On Running rates “It’s a Start” for the planet pillar.
The brand notes material innovation and circularity as two of its biggest focuses, and it claims to design and select fabrics with disassembly and mechanical recycling in mind. It also has a resale programme, Onward. That said, On Running has some work to do in being more transparent about these practices and processes.
A case in point is its CleanCloud cushioning—one of the brand’s most prominent sustainability features, which it describes as: “High-performance materials made from carbon emissions”. This rings greenwashing alarm bells on first glance, so Dr Kate Hobson-Lloyd and Becca Willcox, Good On You’s sustainability managers, took a deeper look. “The positives here are that On Running does disclose its partners—along with links to their respective websites—in developing this material,” Hobson-Lloyd says. “And it does make efforts to describe how the material is made in a way that is easy to understand.” On the flipside, Willcox notes that “the polyester material is only ‘20% recycled carbon emissions’, and it’s not totally clear what the remaining percentage is made from.” In other words: the brand has made good efforts to innovate disclose the details around this material, but we may not be getting the whole picture.
Elsewhere, On Running has shared that it’s using renewable energy in its supply chain, uses some lower impact materials, and offers clothing recycling to consumers in an effort to take more responsibility for end-of-life textile waste. But the brand still needs to take action in other key areas, and that’s why it’s not scoring higher. For instance, our analysts couldn’t find evidence that it’s taking action to reduce hazardous chemicals in manufacturing, or to minimise its packaging, or to protect biodiversity in its supply chain.
Labour rights
On Running is missing the boat on workers’ rights—for which it rates “Not Good Enough”.
While it does have a code of conduct that aligns with the ILO Four Fundamental Freedoms principles, it doesn’t appear to certify any of its supply chain with labour standards that help to ensure worker health and safety, financial stability, and more. That’s really important considering its final stage of production takes place in countries with a very high risk of labour abuse. The brand’s 2023 impact report details a few targets for ensuring living wages are paid in the first tier (ie the brand’s direct manufacturing suppliers) of its supply chain by 2025, but what about those further along in the supply chain, too? On Running must do better here.
Animal welfare
There’s not a whole lot to say about On Running’s animal welfare commitment, namely because it doesn’t appear to have a code of conduct in this area. That might be because the brand doesn’t use many animal-derived materials like leather or exotic animal skins. It does, however, use wool in its designs, and so we’d expect to see some commitment to responsible sourcing, like using recycled or non-mulesed wool. For this reason, On Running rates “It’s a Start” here. It’s great that the brand doesn’t use loads of animal products, but having a code of conduct is still the bare minimum.
Overall rating: ‘It’s a Start’
It’s clear that On Running is some making genuine efforts to reduce its impact, implement circular design and business principles, and launch social impact initiatives, but it’s not going far enough yet. The brand’s sustainability page notes: “we are always recalibrating and reengineering toward better,” which implies that we can expect to see some updates on its targets and the progress it’s making to reach them.
Rapid growth is a challenge for any business, and ensuring that sustainability initiatives and minimising the impact of manufacturing keep pace with that is never easy, but On Running has an opportunity to buck the trend here. Let’s hope its sustainability catches up soon.
Note that Good On You ratings consider hundreds of issues, and it is not possible to list every relevant issue in a summary of the brand’s performance. For more information, see our How We Rate page and our FAQs.
More sustainable alternatives to On Running
Looking for sportswear and sneakers made by brands with a commitment to more responsible production, labour rights, and animal welfare? Scroll through our list to meet some “Good” and “Great”-rated alternatives to On Running.
