The Hidden Waste Problem in Club Sport
The average grassroots club replaces its full kit every two to three years. Most of the outgoing stock is still wearable. Some of it ends up in a cupboard. A lot of it ends up in a bin.
That's not a values problem - it's a system problem. Clubs have been sold a procurement model designed around annual reorders, seasonal rebranding, and cheap polyester that fades fast enough to justify replacement. Changing it doesn't require a complete club sustainability strategy. It requires better buying decisions and a clearer idea of what happens to a kit after its final match.
This guide covers both: how to buy kit that lasts, and what to do with it if it doesn't.
Why the Status Quo Is Getting Harder to Justify
The textile industry accounts for roughly 3% of global greenhouse gas emissions, and polyester - the dominant fibre in performance sportswear - makes up around 54% of all fibre production worldwide (Textile Exchange, 2023). Virgin polyester carries a carbon footprint of approximately 3.12 kg CO₂e per kilogram of material (Horn et al., 2023).
These aren't abstract figures for distant manufacturers. They apply directly to the shirts, shorts, and tracksuits your club orders every pre-season. Extending the life of a garment by just one additional season can reduce its overall climate impact by roughly 24–50%, depending on the fibre type (WRAP UK, 2023).
The case for changing isn't ideological. It's practical: clubs that buy better kit, care for it properly, and close the loop on disposal are spending less over time and exposing themselves to less regulatory and reputational risk.
Fast Fashion vs. Made-to-Order: What the Difference Actually Costs
Cheap off-the-shelf kits look like a bargain. They're designed to look like one. They're also designed for one season, not three.
Here's what the fast-fashion cycle costs clubs in practice: frequent rebranding sends perfectly wearable kits to landfill or storage. Overproduction creates deadstock - items manufactured but never worn. Bulk stock shipped from Asia to the UK adds transport emissions on top of the production footprint. And synthetic fibres in cheap shirts, training tops, and tracksuits shed microfibres into waterways with every wash.
The alternative - made-to-order, sublimated custom kits - inverts this model. Nothing is manufactured until the design is approved. No seasonal drops. No surplus. Sublimation dyes the design directly into the fabric rather than printing on top, which means graphics, sponsor logos, and crests don't crack or peel after thirty washes.
"Perfectly executed design, high quality and didn't break the bank. What more can you ask for?!"
Chris Hagen
The maths of durability is straightforward. A kit that costs 20% more per unit but lasts three seasons rather than one costs less per wear, per player, per year. That's the comparison clubs should be making - not the unit price on the first invoice.
Recycled Polyester: What It Is, What It Isn't
Performance shirts for football, rugby, tennis, and hockey still need polyester. It wicks moisture, dries fast, holds shape, and handles heavy use. The question isn't whether to use polyester - it's where it comes from.
Switching from virgin polyester to recycled polyester (typically made from post-consumer plastic bottles) cuts the carbon footprint from around 3.12 kg CO₂e per kilogram to roughly 0.68-1.56 kg CO₂e per kilogram - a reduction of up to 80%, without any sacrifice in performance (Textile Exchange, 2023).
One caveat worth knowing: some research suggests recycled polyester garments can shed more microfibres per wash than virgin equivalents, depending on fibre quality (Pirc et al., 2022). This is why fabric traceability and wash practice both matter (more on care below). It's also why the quality question matters more than the recycled/virgin distinction alone - low-quality recycled poly is not automatically better than high-quality virgin poly on every environmental metric.
My Club's Approach
My Club is a UK and Europe-based custom teamwear supplier. We do made-to-order sublimated kits for clubs of all sizes - from grassroots under-7s to university societies and corporate teams.
Our production model eliminates overproduction by design: nothing goes into production until artwork is signed off. Clubs reorder the same kit for new intakes rather than redesigning every season. We're increasing the share of recycled polyester in our match kits year on year.
For every order, we plant trees through a vetted reforestation partner and provide certificates clubs can share in newsletters, social posts, and on the clubhouse noticeboard.
Lead times run around six weeks. That's longer than off-the-shelf, and it's intentional: prototype sign-off, print checks, size set approval. Every step is quality control that reduces the likelihood of a reorder inside two seasons.
What to Do with Outgrown and Worn-Out Kits
This is where most club sustainability conversations stop - with the purchase decision. It shouldn't. The circular economy isn't a concept; it's a set of practical options that are available to clubs right now.
Youth kits: swap schemes and hand-me-down systems
Youth clubs cycle through sizes every season. A kit that fits a nine-year-old in September is often too small by March. Rather than discarding it, clubs can run a kit swap scheme: returning players hand in outgrown kit at the end of the season, which is laundered and passed to new or younger members. A simple spreadsheet tracking sizes and condition is enough to manage this.
Some clubs extend this into a subsidised kit programme for families who can't afford full kit costs, reducing barriers to participation and keeping garments in active use. It doesn't require a sustainability policy - it requires a storage crate and an someone with a spreadsheet.
Donation networks
Several UK-based networks exist specifically to redirect sports kit from clubs to people who need it:
- Kit Funder - connects clubs with businesses that offer sponsorship to fund free kits
- Football Beyond Borders and similar organisations facilitate kit donations directly to grassroots programmes in lower-income communities
- Sport Relief kit collections accept used sportswear during campaign periods
Before donating: wash kit, check for significant damage, and check whether the recipient organisation needs your specific sport. Most will accept good-condition items regardless of the club branding. Your crest on a shirt someone is wearing is a better outcome than your crest in a landfill.
Second-hand kit sales: fundraising that pays
Selling outgrown or end-of-season kit is underused as a fundraising mechanism, particularly for youth clubs where parent networks are already active on local Facebook groups and WhatsApp.
A practical model: at the end of each season, clubs photograph and list outgrown youth kit on a dedicated Facebook or WhatsApp group. Pricing at £3-8 per item for shirts and shorts is realistic. A junior club cycling forty kits per age group per season could raise a few hundred pounds annually - not transformative, but genuinely useful, and a clear community signal about the club's values.
Some clubs have formalised this with a pre-season kit fair: a single morning event where outgrown kits are sold or swapped, new items are available to order, and families who need financial support can access subsidised or donated kit. The fundraising and the welfare function happen at the same event.
Repair before replacement
Training tops that are no longer match-standard still have life in them for practice. Small tears can be patched. Numbers that have peeled on older non-sublimated kits can sometimes be replaced by a local embroidery or print shop at low cost.
Creating a simple kit-care guide for players and parents - covering wash temperature, drying method, and repair options - is one of the highest-return sustainability interventions available to any club. It costs nothing to produce and can double the effective life of a garment.
"High quality kit with great communication from the design to the delivery date, 100 % recommend we will be ordering again when we update our home kit."
Drew
Practical Buying Guide: How to Make the Switch
1. Assess current kit usage. How many kits does your club go through per season? Where does the waste come from? Identify which items - match shirts, training tops, tracksuits - get replaced most often and why.
2. Define one change, not a full overhaul. A commitment to recycled polyester for match kits, or removing single-use water bottles, is a meaningful start. You don't need to redesign everything at once.
3. Compare lifecycle cost, not unit price. A kit at a slightly higher unit cost that lasts three seasons beats one that fades in twelve months. Run the numbers before assuming the cheaper option saves money.
4. Build the circular loop into your kit plan. Decide at the point of ordering what you'll do when kit is outgrown or worn out: swap scheme, donation, second-hand sale, or repair. Don't leave it as an afterthought.
5. Test with one team, then expand. Try recycled poly match kits with a single age group or squad. Get feedback on fit, performance, and durability. Then roll it out.
Caring for Kit That's Worth Keeping
Proper care can genuinely double the life of shirts, shorts, and tracksuits. It's the single biggest thing any club can do for sustainability and value for money.
- Wash at 30°C - higher temperatures degrade fabric faster and increase microfibre shedding
- Avoid fabric softener - it coats fibres and increases microfibre release from synthetics
- Turn sublimated shirts inside out before washing
- Line dry rather than tumble dry - tumble drying degrades colour, print, and fabric structure faster than anything else
- Use a Guppyfriend wash bag or fit a microfibre filter in club laundry facilities - these capture fibres before they reach waterways
A one-page kit care PDF for players and parents takes an hour to produce and pays back across every wash cycle for the life of the kit. Include washing instructions, basic repair options, and your kit swap or donation process. It's also a visible signal to parents that the club takes this seriously.
Getting Started with My Club
My Club handles custom design, sublimation, and sustainable material selection for clubs across the UK and Europe. Here's how a typical first order works:
- Initial call with a dedicated account manager - your sport, your budget, your sustainability goals
- Design phase using our free online kit builder - colours, patterns, fabric options
- Tailored quote specifying fabric type, recycled content percentage, and tree-planting contribution
- Final artwork approval before production begins - nothing is manufactured until you sign off
We offer free design support and help selecting sustainable materials for your first order. Every order plants trees, with certificates provided for your community communications.
Pre-season planning windows fill up. Reviewing your kit needs now - before the autumn rush - means you choose deliberately rather than reacting. That's better for your budget, better for the environment, and better for the players turning out in your colours.
