‘I’m Canadian and came to theUK
for university – I studied manufacturing
and management engineering at
Durham. Since then, I’ve workedfor
Ernst & Young Consumer Productsand
Retail team, as a financial analystat Sky
and on the Burberry finance team.’
‘I love running – I used to runsix
miles home from work, and have
run several half- and full-distance
marathons. It was this passionfor
running that led my husband Steveand
me to launch Tribe Sports in 2010.I did
it outside of my main job and itwasa
community-powered digital platformand
sports social network supportingpeople
to exercise wherever they’re based.The
community grew to 250,000 members,
across 130 countries.’
‘In 2014, partly in response to
demand from the Tribe community
for quality running clothing,we
relaunched the business to become
sustainable and make sustainable
running gear. We’d carried outa survey
and found out that 97 per centof runners
are concerned about pollution intheair
theybreathe, 95 percentsaidtheycare
aboutrunningoncleanstreetsandtrails
andmorethan 68 percentsaidthey
careabouttheirkitbeingmadefrom
recycledmaterials,sothisspurredus
onto tryto helpgivethemwhatthey
want.Wepartneredwithparkrunin
2015 to helpmotivatepeopleto just
getoutthereandrun,andin 2016,
I leftthefashionindustryto workat
Tribefull-time,usingknowledgeI’d
gainedto producehigh-qualityclothing,
butdoingit in a moreeco-friendlyway.’‘Our360-degreesustainability
businessmeansweputsustainability
attheheartofeverythingwedo,from
creatingperformancerunningapparel
fromrecycledplasticsto plantinga tree
foreveryordermade:“Buyone,getone
tree”.We’realsosupportingcleanpaths
forrunnerswithourploggingeventseries
andpartneringwitha clothesrecycling
programmeto encourageourcustomers
to recycletheiroldkit.I believeeach
decisiondoeshaveanimpact,evenif it’s
smallnow.Themorepeoplewhomake
conscioussustainabledecisions,the
biggertheimpactwillbe.’‘MY LIFE IN A DAY’
Emma Reid
The MD of Tribe Sports (tribesports.com), the UK’s
first 360-degree sustainable running-apparel brand
tells us how and why she does itEMMA’S TOP
SUSTAINABLE-
RUNNING TIPS
● ‘Investin high-qualitykitmade
bysustainableorethicalbrands
thatwilllast.Activewearis put
undera lotmorepressurethan
day-to-dayclothing,soopt
fordesignsthataredurable
andtranscendtheseasonal,
fast-fashionfads,thatwaythe
planetdoesn’tpaytheprice.’
● ‘Becomethesustainability
championat yourlocalrunning
club.Helpthemreducewasteat
events,organiseplogsandalign
yourclubwithanecocharityso
thatyoucanraisemoneyand
awarenessthroughevents.’
● ‘Findyourlocalgreengym- theyhavegreatinitiativesoffering
wellbeing,healthandfitness
whilereducingenvironmental
impactat thesametime.’
W r
WORDS: Emma Lewis PHOTOGRAPHY: Products, Reef Design;Plogging and Emma running, Jono Blackham‘The more people who make sustainable decisions,
the bigger the impact will be’Taking part in the Plogathon –
Emma is collecting rubbish as
she runs to keep paths clear