Michael Jordan’s son wants to bring sustainability to the apparel industry
Essentially Sports: VISHWESHA KUMAR
A new sportswear company with State-of-the-art technology is set to launch soon, and it is touted to take on billion-dollar brands. And the company is led by a senior veteran of Nike and the son of one of the greatest athletes ever, Michael Jordan. MJ’s son Jeffrey Jordan and Tim Gobet, who worked at Nike for 15 years, are launching a company called Äktiiv. The company is aimed to bring sustainability into an industry where it has become almost impossible to attain carbon zero.
Äktiiv is the market for leggings and activewear for women. And the catch point is these products are biodegradable and are made from plants instead of oil or plastics.
Gobet has been working with Nike for 15 years and he has worked on several products on the apparel line. He has also worked as a senior product manager for basketball. And he met Jeffrey Jordan, who was working at Nike for 7 years. He worked in several departments and he also tried his hand at his dad’s, Air Jordan brand. Jeffrey and Gobet just clicked, and they combined on a common goal of sustainability.
Jordan joined the company as an investor and adviser and he had huge words about his product. He said, “Sustainability has been something we’ve talked about quite a bit. This type of product just doesn’t exist.” Äktiiv co-founder Tim Gobet also chimed in about his latest product. He said, “Petroleum is the enemy. That’s the line that we want to put in the sand.”
The company is in the process of launching its Kickstarter campaign and is hoping for massive gains. The Kickstarter campaign is set to start next week with a bunch of products at a discounted price. Äktiiv also hopes that it can make a change in the sports apparel industry and contend with big players like Nike and Lululemon.
Michael Jordan’s son may be in competition with his own dad, but Jordan will definitely be proud of his son for taking a huge step. Who knows, if things work out, MJ himself may invest in the company. We will have to wait and see how the launch performs.