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What happens to sporting uniforms when their time on the field is over?
For Hockey Australia, the answer became an opportunity to address textile waste while creating paid employment for women from migrant, refugee and asylum-seeker backgrounds.
Through CircularWorks, retired Hockeyroos and Kookaburras match kits are being transformed into new products at SisterWorks’ Springvale Manufacturing Hub.
The challenge
Elite sport requires a significant volume of uniforms and apparel. When those items reach the end of their original use, organisations face the question of what happens next.
For Hockeyroo Greta Hayes, the environmental impact of that cycle was something she wanted to address.
“As athletes, it can sometimes feel like we have a higher environmental impact with all of the uniform that is produced for us. Being able to get involved in initiatives like this allows us to give back and offset some of that environmental impact.”
Greta Hayes, Hockeyroo
In March 2026, everclime connected Hockey Australia with SisterWorks to explore a different solution.
Rather than allowing retired kits to become waste, Hockey Australia supplied the materials to SisterWorks to be repurposed through CircularWorks.
From retired uniforms to skilled local manufacturing
At SisterWorks’ Springvale Manufacturing Hub, Sisters worked with the retired garments through the manufacturing process, preparing, cutting and sewing the material into products with a new purpose.
The initial pilot created:
4 Sisters employed
70+ hours of paid employment
Up to $9,000 in social return on investment
The project extends the useful life of existing materials while creating skilled, paid work for women building their economic independence in Australia.
For SisterWorks Chief Commercial Officer Shamila Gopalan, that combination is central to the CircularWorks model.
“It puts a spotlight not just on diverting waste from landfill, but on supporting migrant and refugee women through work as we repurpose old uniforms and textile materials.”
Shamila Gopalan, Chief Commercial Officer, SisterWorks
Circularity that creates employment
The Hockey Australia partnership demonstrates how circular economy initiatives can deliver more than waste reduction.
By connecting recovered materials with local manufacturing capability, organisations can turn an operational challenge into products with continued value while generating measurable employment outcomes.
For SisterWorks, that is what makes CircularWorks different.
Materials that may otherwise have reached the end of their useful life become an input for local manufacturing. Commercial projects create paid work. Sisters build income, experience and skills through that work.
The initial Hockey Australia pilot has established the foundation for an ongoing partnership and further opportunities to give retired materials a new purpose.
Could your materials create work too?
Uniforms are only one opportunity.
CircularWorks works with organisations to explore how redundant textiles and materials can be transformed into practical products through SisterWorks’ manufacturing capability.
If your organisation has uniforms, textiles, banners or other materials that are reaching the end of their original use, talk to us about what they could become.
Turn materials into products. Turn procurement into paid work.