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Retailer Guide | DICK'S Sporting Goods

FOR ENTERPRISE BRANDS

GUIDE TO DICK’S SPORTING GOODS PACKAGING AND SUSTAINABILITY REQUIREMENTS

by Saloni Doshi and Jessica Dowding • updated October 1, 2024 • 11 min read
DICK'S Sporting Goods

This guide is here to help set your brand up for success working with DICK’S Sporting Goods. Learn how to align with DICK’S’ sustainability initiatives, like implementing right-size packaging, reducing waste, and maximizing recyclability.

In this guide, you’ll find an overview of DICK’S Sporting Goods’ sustainable packaging requirements, overall impact goals, inspiration for updating your packaging, and more.

For individual guidance about creating sustainable packaging that stands out at DICK’S Sporting Goods, reach out to us, and we’ll be happy to help.

Table of Contents

AT A GLANCE

DICK’S Sporting Goods’ Sustainability Goals

DICK'S Sporting Goods has four pillars of sustainability and social responsibility that they use to guide their business: 

  • Leveling the Playing Field
  • Clearing Hurdles
  • Raising the Bar
  • Protecting Our Home Court

Within these overarching pillars, they are striving to reduce their environmental impact by:

  • Reducing packaging waste
  • Designing packaging for recyclability
  • Using recycled packaging content
  • Sourcing more sustainable products
  • Implementing rental and take-back programs
  • Providing clear information to help athletes make sustainable purchasing decisions

How EcoEnclose Helps Brands Working With DICK'S Sporting Goods

EcoEnclose is well-positioned to help brands design their packaging to fit DICK’S Sporting Goods vendor requirements and sustainability goals. Reach out to us if you’d like support:

  • Designing “right-sized packaging” to eliminate unnecessary waste

  • Replacing single-use plastic or polyethylene with sustainable alternatives

  • Maximizing the use of post-consumer waste in all materials

  • Securing How2Recycle® labeling

  • Maximizing curbside recyclability

  • Helping design clear packaging labels to highlight sustainable attributes


About DICK'S Sporting Goods

Founded in 1848, DICK’S Sporting Goods is a leading omnichannel retailer for athletes and outdoor enthusiasts. The company is headquartered in Pittsburgh and operates more than 850 retail locations. Their stores include:

  • DICK’S Sporting Goods
  • Golf Galaxy
  • Public Lands
  • Moosejaw
  • Going Going Gone!
  • Warehouse Sale stores

They carry an impressive variety of athletic, outdoor, and fitness products. DICK’S Sporting Goods works to create confidence and excitement by inspiring, supporting, and personally equipping all athletes to achieve their dreams.

For brands in the athletic and outdoor spaces, becoming a vendor for DICK’S Sporting Goods can help you grow your brand recognition and provide increased access to target customers.

If you are working with DICK’S or aiming to do so, keep reading for tips on designing packaging that can help you land the deal and elevate your shelf presence and promotion with the retailer.


Deeper Dive: DICK’S Sporting Goods’ Sustainability Goals and Commitments

DICK’S Sporting Goods is working to address its entire value chain and promote responsible, sustainable choices for athletes and outdoor enthusiasts.

The four pillars of their sustainability program reflect this overall vision.

DICK'S Sporting Goods Sustainability Program

Click to enlarge. Source: DICK'S Sporting Goods

Leveling the Playing Field

Creating an inclusive, equitable, diverse, and safe workplace where teammates can thrive.

Current efforts include supporting equitable pay, increasing BIPOC opportunities and hires, seeking out diverse suppliers, promoting diversity in leadership roles, and prioritizing representation of women in store leadership.

Clearing Hurdles

Breaking down barriers to help ensure all communities have a chance to play sports, learn, and prosper.

Current efforts include giving two million kids a chance to play, supporting opportunities for girls in sports, and achieving $300 million in annual spending with diverse suppliers by 2025.

Raising the Bar

Providing athletes with innovative, responsible products.

Current efforts include joining the AAFA/FLA Industry Commitment to Responsible Recruitment, meeting the minimum disclosure standards for the Human Rights Watch Transparency Pledge for 100% of vertical brands, and attaining 100% participation of vertical brands and Tier 1 suppliers in the SAC Higg Facility Environmental Module by 2025.

As part of this pillar, DICK’S Sporting Goods prefers sourcing products designed with inclusivity, sustainability, and safety in mind.

Protecting Our Home Court

Addressing environmental footprint as responsible stewards of the planet.

The company’s current efforts to reduce their negative impact and promote more sustainable practices include:

  • Reducing greenhouse gas emissions for DICK’s operations by 30% by 2030

  • Eliminating single-use plastic bags at checkout by 2025 in partnership with the Consortium to Reinvent the Retail Bag

  • Partnering with Sideline Swap to provide a takeback program and keep gear out of landfills

  • Offering a rental program to allow more sustainable consumption

  • Encouraging athletes to recycle used packaging and return plastic bags for recycling

  • Swapping shipping and packaging materials for custom-fit corrugated cardboard, reducing waste by 26%

  • Evaluating fabric use and finding ways to reduce remnants and fabric waste

DICK’S Sporting Goods also operates the Public Lands Fund foundation, which uses volunteering, donations, and sustainable gear to protect the planet and encourage people to enjoy the outdoors responsibly.

In addition to these big-picture efforts, the company has specific goals for its vertical brands and sustainability requirements for suppliers and vendors.

DICK'S Sporting Goods waste reduction chart

Click to enlarge. Source: DICK'S Sporting Goods


DICK’S Sporting Goods’ Sustainability Goals for Vertical Brands

DICK'S Sporting Goods is a member of the Sustainable Apparel Coalition.

By 2025, they have pledged to use the Higg Facility Environmental Module auditing tool to evaluate 100% of their vertical brands and Tier 1 suppliers.

They’re working on redesigning tags for select vertical brands to use less material and maximize recycled content.

Another key part of their goals for vertical brands is prioritizing and clearly labeling sustainable products with organic content, recycled content, or preferred fibers. 

They also display certifications from Fair Trade, bluesign, and Leather Working Group on relevant products. 

As they continue to refine their vertical product lines, DICK’S is also shifting to a set of approved, tested fabrics for their fabric library that will be the core sources of material for products. This helps improve transparency, quality, and consistency and reduces the amount of remnant fabric and material waste generated when a specific product line ends.

DICK'S Sporting Goods Sustainable Product Attributes

Click to enlarge. Source: DICK'S Sporting Goods


Sustainable Packaging Goals for Suppliers of DICK’S Sporting Goods

DICK'S Sporting Goods has no publicly available requirements for sustainable packaging for suppliers. However, there are things you can do to make sure your packaging aligns with the sustainability goals the company has set.

Encoraged Materials and Products

Since DICK’S Sporting Goods is working to help athletes make environmentally smart decisions, they prefer packaging that easily identifies responsible materials, manufacturing, and sourcing.

DICK’S lists a range of preferred eco-friendlier fiber labels:

  • Responsible Wool Standard (RWS)
  • Cotton Made in Africa (CMiA
  • Responsible Environment Enhanced Livelihood Cotton (REEL COTTON)
  • Forest Stewardship Council (FSC)
  • Responsible Down Standard (RDS)
  • Advanced Traceable Down Standard
  • Cradle-to-Cradle Certified
  • OEKO-TEX® Made in Green
  • OEKO-TEX® Standard 100
  • Better Cotton Initiative (BCI)
  • Global Traceable Down Standard

To help DICK’S athletes care for the planet, the company emphasizes recyclable packaging and packaging made from recycled materials. Clear recycling instructions are encouraged.

They also opt for packaging without polyethylene or other single-use plastics.

Products that use “right-sized packaging” and eliminate excess packaging are another way to work within DICK’S sustainability goals.

Restricted Materials and Products

DICK’S Sporting Goods has a comprehensive list of Restricted Materials that they limit or ban in their products. Restricted materials include: 

Packaging Materials To Avoid

  • PVC (banned from all DICK’S Sporting Goods products)
  • Formaldehyde
  • Flame Retardants
  • Dimethylformamide (DMF)
  • Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs)
  • Phthalates
  • Heavy Metals

Their Restricted Materials List includes more information on where these materials are commonly found and the thresholds for each material.

Per their Vendor Code of Conduct, DICK'S Sporting Goods expects all its vendors to “share its commitment to by responding to challenges posed by climate change and working towards protecting the environment.”

To fulfill this commitment, they require all vendors to:

  • Act in an environmentally responsible manner.

  • Comply with all applicable environmental laws and regulations regarding hazardous materials, air emissions, waste, and wastewater discharge.

  • Adhere to all applicable laws regarding the prohibition or restriction of specific substances, including product content labeling and labeling for recycling and disposal

  • Work to minimize vendor’s impact on surroundings and global resources.

In addition to working to comply with DICK’S Sporting Goods’ sustainable packaging requirements, we encourage brands to consider:


Frequently Asked Questions About DICK’S Sporting Goods

What are DICK’S Sporting Goods’ sustainable packaging requirements?

Rather than a list of specific requirements, DICK’S mainly provides overarching goals and guidelines for sustainable packaging. Some of their initiatives include:

  • Maximizing recyclability
  • Right-sizing packaging to reduce waste
  • Choosing responsible suppliers
  • Avoiding single-use plastics
  • Prioritizing eco-friendlier materials in packaging and products

Has DICK’S Sporting Goods banned any packaging materials?

DICK’S Sporting Goods has a comprehensive list of Restricted Materials that they limit or ban in their products. Restricted materials include:

  • PVC (banned from all DICK’S Sporting Goods products)
  • Formaldehyde
  • Flame Retardants
  • Dimethylformamide (DMF)
  • Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs)
  • Phthalates
  • Heavy Metals

Their Restricted Materials List includes more information on where these materials are commonly found and the thresholds for each material.

Does DICK’S Sporting Goods require third-party certifications?

While the company does not mandate third-party certifications, they do have several labels they encourage, such as:

  • Fair Trade
  • Bluesign
  • Forest Stewardship Council
  • Leather Working Group
  • How2Recycle

Brands can maximize their chances of being stocked by DICK’S through clear, transparent labeling for all materials and sustainability attributes and by pursuing relevant certifications when possible.

How can I start selling through DICK’S Sporting Goods?

DICK’S Sporting Goods uses an online portal to accept new vendor submissions. To submit products, you must create an account that includes business, product, and contact information.


Recycled packaging from EcoEnclose
Sustainable Packaging Solutions

EcoEnclose Is Ready To Help Your Brand

Are you currently working with DICK’S Sporting Goods or looking to have your brand carried in their store?

EcoEnclose is ready to help you develop packaging solutions that align with DICK’S Sporting Goods’ sustainability goals and help you put your best foot forward.

Here are specific ways we’ve helped supplier brands for DICK’S Sporting Goods:

Right-Sized Packaging Design

Since DICK’S has focused on eliminating packaging waste in recent years, you can stand out by choosing efficient packaging.

EcoEnclose works with your brand and product line to find areas where you can reduce packaging waste and choose the best size, shape, and type.

Recyclability

Since DICK’S wants to make recycling easy for athletes, they prefer readily curbside recyclable packaging. This typically means choosing recyclable mono-materials such as paperboard, glass, aluminum, or PET plastics. When two materials are needed, making them easily separated is another key aspect of recyclability.

EcoEnclose reviews your secondary packaging and replaces existing non-recyclable materials with readily and widely recyclable options.

How2Recycle® Labeling

To align with DICK’S Sporting Goods’ commitment to clear recyclability labeling, EcoEnclose helps brands navigate the How2Recycle® request and labeling process.

Recycled Content

DICK’S Sporting Goods prefers products and packaging with high recycled content.

EcoEnclose can help you make the transition to 100% recycled poly films, paperboard, and pouch material in a cost-effective way.

Sustainability Feature Labels

One of DICK’S Sporting Goods’ pillars is giving athletes the information they need to make environmentally responsible decisions. This includes having key sustainability, sourcing, and material information on packaging.

EcoEnclose looks at your current packaging and ensures your sustainability credentials are clearly and attractively displayed.

Custom Branding

Our team can help you develop or refresh your packaging branding and design so you stand out to DICK’S Sporting Good Customers on shelves and online.

Our unique Sustainable Packaging Framework helps streamline decision-making, and our rigorous standards for all products ensure your packaging meets and exceeds the sustainability standards set by DICK’S Sporting Goods. We leverage our experience working with hundreds of brands, from the smallest startups to the most robust enterprise brands, to help you create a working packaging strategy.

To get started, you can request free samples, explore our extensive resource library, or get in touch for a free consultation.


EcoEnclose packaging experts

About EcoEnclose

EcoEnclose is the leading sustainable packaging company that provides eco-packaging solutions to the world’s most forward-thinking brands.

We develop diverse, sustainable packaging solutions that meet our rigorous research-based standards and customers’ goals. We drive innovative packaging materials to market and consistently improve the circularity of existing solutions.