How St Pauli’s Di!Y kits extend the club’s ethos and sustainability values

St Pauli are a team known for doing things differently. The Hamburg-based club – who have spent most of their recent history playing in the 2.Bundesliga, Germany’s second division – is known for its left-wing politics, social values, and skull and crossbones insignia. Nowadays, its reach extends far beyond the district of St Pauli and the city of Hamburg and its phenomenon as one of Germany’s “Kult” clubs.

The ethos of the club is not just limited to its off-pitch activities, which include everything from free training sessions for local children to anti-fascist and anti-racist activism. St. Pauli also showcases these values on matchdays, particularly through the kits the players wear. In a sea of big-name brands – PUMA, Macron, and adidas produce the majority of 2. Bundesliga kits – St Pauli began making its own kits in 2021. The club’s kits are now produced under the Di!Y moniker, which was chosen to encapsulate the club’s punk spirit and left-wing values, while the club’s ethos is summed up by the slogan “ultra fair sportswear” used for the brand.

FC St. Pauli

The journey to launching Di!Y began in 2016, when a 17-year-old made a request at the club’s general meeting, asking St Pauli to apply its values of sustainability and fairness when producing merchandise. The club took this on board and began using GOTS Certified and Fair Trade Standard fabrics for its Skull collections of merch. Eventually, St Pauli decided to follow the same approach for its kits, and Di!Y was born.

FC St.Pauli

“It fits in with our do-it-yourself approach, of course, as well as our approach of wanting to make the world a better place,” says Bernd von Geldern, commercial director at St Pauli. “We make it as far as it can be at the moment, with conviction, commitment, professionalism. Our motto is ‘not perfect, but better.’”

While the decision to launch Di!Y and produce their own kits fits with St Pauli’s general outlook, that doesn’t mean it was risk-free. The club is known for its merchandise – those skull and crossbones again – and the size and expertise of this department was beneficial when launching Di!Y. “What is special is the entrepreneurial risk,” von Geldern continues. “We are looking at a million-dollar contract with an outfitter or to do it ourselves, so nothing can go wrong. How are you going to tell someone that the jerseys won’t be there in time for the start of the season? Or that they’ll fall apart?”

FC St. Pauli

For the 2022/23 season, Di!Y has crafted St Pauli’s home and away kits, both of which reference the traditional, if unconventional, brown home shirt. ”The story of how brown came about 100 years ago isn’t clear,” von Geldern explains. “In my opinion, there were either no other colours or it was just the favourite colour of the first president.” Either way, St Pauli’s brown home shirt has become a symbol of everything the club stands for.

FC St. Pauli

The latest third kit, however, pushes a few more boundaries. Pairing a black base with colourful detailing, the shirt is inspired by the Hamburg-based graffiti artist Oz who passed away in 2014. “Oz is a city-famous artist who passed away in poverty,” von Geldern adds. “We want to celebrate his legacy and donate to the care of his grave. Oz is an important inspiration for our fan scene.” Even when St Pauli and Di!Y are pushing boundaries with their design, in other words, they are still honouring the club’s values, and particularly the focus on counter-culture and community.

FC St. Pauli

Throughout everything St Pauli does, these values are front and centre. That’s part of the reason that the club’s influence extends far beyond the city of Hamburg or the lower reaches of the 2.Bundesliga. The club’s values are also central to its Di!Y venture, something which it hopes will act as an example for the football community more widely. “Football has to realise that it has to use its social relevance for sustainability,” von Geldern concludes.

St Pauli Di!Y kit price & how to buy

The FC St Pauli 2022-23 and previous season kits are all available to purchase from the official FC St. Pauli store, with prices starting at €69.95 for a jersey.