Unmasking Greenwashing in the Outdoor Sporting Industry: The Illusion of Sustainability in the Shift to a Circular Model

Abstract The sports industry is faced with challenges in managing demand for products in an eco-efficient manner and is relying on so-called circular economy (CE) concepts to kerb environmental damage. Even though circular economy (CE) strategies are actively advocated by business and retailers as their sustainability strategies, the claims are viewed skeptically due to the extensive knowledge about the possibility of greenwashing. This study investigates the claims of the outdoor sporting goods industry regarding the implementation of CE strategies in comparison with the actual practices of brands and dares to theorize the illusion of sustainability the industry operates under. Conducting expert interviews, this research investigates the multifaceted obstacles and catalysts to a concerted adoption of CE and reveals disarray between marketing rhetoric and sustainability in practice. Areas of analysis include product design for durability and repair, consumer perception and behaviour and recycled content use. The results indicate on the balance an over-emphasis on promotive sustainability narratives compared to tangible operational change, exposing how circulate economy principles may be frayed and speak more to branding than environmental impact. The study findings reveal the current narratives about the corporate sustainability by offering the basis for ensuring transparency and accountability during the implementations of the CE. Such insights will certainly assist industry tycoons, policymakers and sustainability advocates since they understand and combat instances of greenwashing occurrence in the outdoor sporting industry.