When it comes to my supermarket of choice, I’ve always been a bit of a Sainsbury’s man, occasionally wavering towards Tescos and very occasionally Waitrose. Aldi? You must be joking! So, when I was contacted last week by a marketing company offering me a few free samples of cycling gear currently available in Aldi I was a little sceptical to say the least. They arrived a few days ago and… I’m actually very impressed. I’ve been sent a men’s winter cycling shirt (ยฃ8.99), a men’s winter cycling jacket (ยฃ15.99) and a pair of unisex winter cycling gloves (ยฃ4.99). All three garments are very comfortable, appear to be well-made and bearing those two factors in mind, extremely good value. The full range is quite extensive (full list:ย Aldi Cycling Gear – Details) and I may even pop down to my local Aldi to check out what else they have. If cycling is one day to become an effective method of transporting the masses then the clothing that is required will have to become available in mass-market shops so all credit to Aldi for making the effort to do so and at such reasonable prices. I’ll certainly be making use of all three garments over the next few months. They might not perhaps last as long as much more expensive items (although perhaps they will!) but at those prices, who cares? I look forward to Sainsbury’s one day following in the cycle tracks of their German rivals!
Categories: Cycling
Hi, Andrew!
Maybe these cycling kits are cheap – for the moment and for the buyer.
But these textiles are made under very poor working, very bad ecological and working safety conditions.
As a teacher and a word-spreading person you should have a look at the following sites – and tell these also your school-kids…we decide, not the industry!
As vaude uses recycling-material (EMAS and blue-sign certified) you should buy organic textiles as the cotton is therefore non-genetically modified – and look for this label…
http://www.global-standard.org/
Under wich conditions is the textile made – many outdoor-companies now have joined this label…
http://www.fairwear.org/
And finally – thatยดs also about the social surroundings of a product have a look to the Clean Clothes Campain – latest stories about the people in Bangladesh who where locked into to working company while the building was already burning…but they had to continue working…
http://www.cleanclothes.org/
As we all have enough money to spent it for travelling in the world we have the moral responsability to look for the working conditions and the resources we use… join in! ๐
Thanks for that.
It’s an issue that you really need to take up with Aldi themselves. I am no apologist for Aldi but I take them at face value and the following page on their website seems a fair statement of how they treat their suppliers: https://corporate.aldi.co.uk/en/responsibility/suppliers/
I would be interested in hearing how they respond to your comments but assuming that their products are made under appropriate conditions (and I have no reason to think otherwise), they should receive credit for selling cycling gear that appears to me to be reasonable quality and very competitively priced. If by doing so they encourage more people to cycle, that is indeed excellent news.
Andrew
Hi, Andrew!t
Iยดm really sorry – but Aldi is not a member of those international non-govermental groups. The labels above are the only ones wich are “clean” – most textiles are only certified with “รko-Text 100” – this nearly nothing…they are also not “climate-neutral”
If you want to have textiles which are made also by renewable energies…you have to look out for instance for this label…
http://www.earthpositive.se/
Hi,
Well you’re right, that noname and big brands are sometimes made in the same factory – labels of different big jeans brands were found in the one in bangladesh wich burned down…
Just take a few moments and have a look to the websites above and decide what you would like to support.
And – I haven’t said that the big brands are always better… ๐
Always buy my gear from here or Lidl, great quality, my trousers have lasted longer that more expensive ones I’ve purchased. I agree with David, when they’re gone, they’re gone ๐
Sad that’s there is so much snobbery around cycling, wearing my Lidl and Aldi uniform means I don’t always get the ‘nod’ from fellow cyclists in their superior logo’d outfits.(Russ)
There shouldn’t be too much snobbery about them tbf.
I use e.g. SportsDirect kit & I’m more than delighted.
They are generally more hi-viz than some of the more expensive trending stuff that the ‘Road Bike Gang’ use … but I feel just as ‘cool’ as the rest of them!
You might consider to buy one kit that lasts and is made with some social and ecological responsibility….like Vaude… quite affordable as well. Besides of that had a look at the Aldi range offered here in Germany: bulky,heavy, plasicy. Don’t do it…
I used both Lidl and Aldi cycling kit and always found it excellent quality and affordable, to the point of actually being cheap. As ever though they choose the Thursday BEFORE pay day to bring the range out – doh!
Hi Andrew. I bought those three items last night and fear that anyone who hasn’t done so already will now be disappointed. Although not exactly Adidas or Rapha but ยฃ for ยฃ excellent commuting kit. I also bought some of the trousers, they were a bit snug around my Hoy like thighs (I wish) but at the price will function well over the winter. The Jacket I bought for my daughter last year is still as god as new.