ABSTRACT
An important component of the increasing commercialisation of sport has been the growth of the sporting goods industry. The Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association (SGMA) in the United States defines this industry as ‘a composition of manufacturers of athletic footwear, sports apparel and sporting goods equipment, as well as manufacturers of accessory items to the sports and recreation market’.1 More specifically, sporting goods are the uniforms, footwear, balls, bats, gloves, protective equipment and so forth that are necessary for playing sport. They constitute a US$170 billion global industry. In the US alone, sporting goods sales, in 2002, at wholesale prices totalled $47.7 billion.2 Thus the manufacturing of sporting goods is a key component in the commercialised sport industry, and it is the primary focus of this chapter.
