Hockeyroo Lily Brazel has used the time spent in isolation to focus on her ethical sportswear business.
Lily Brazel remembers the sense of excitement and anticipation she felt before opening the team kit bag ahead of her Hockeyroos debut in 2017.
The thrill was short-lived, however, when she realised there were more than 100 items of clothing wrapped in single-use plastic bags.
“Before that, I’d been living quite an environmentally conscious, plastic-free, minimal lifestyle, and all of a sudden I had all this plastic waste to deal with,” Ms Brazel told Business News.
“From that moment, I thought, ‘Surely there is a better way of doing this’.”
Motivated to look into how sports clothing was made and the impact it had on the environment, Ms Brazel began mapping out a plan to tackle the issue, eventually launching her own online apparel store – Stature Australia.
Ms Brazel told Business News she had become more focused on the business of late because of downtime due to the COVID-19 pandemic, while still training for selection ahead of the 2021 Tokyo Olympics.
She spent about 18 months researching the environmental and human impacts of the fashion industry before developing a sporting apparel line that would work for performance and sustainability.
Stature Australia was launched in September last year.
Ms Brazel said while the business had taken a hit during COVID-19, she was happy with the growth so far. She said Stature Australia, which relied on word of mouth to attract customers, had received strong support during the pandemic, despite a challenging messaging brief.
“It’s a bit of a double-edge sword, pushing us to be less consumerist but also needing to be able to make money as a business; but messaging like that is often well received,” Ms Brazel said.
Stature’s attire is manufactured in Sydney and uses recycled materials such as post-consumer drinking bottles and woodchips to create yarns and fabrics, which Ms Brazel said enabled a ‘closed-loop’ production system.
The business also offered to repair garments for free if they became damaged, as well as repurpose them into second-life products.
“All of the resources we bring in to make our garments, we aim to have them within our closed circular system for life,” Ms Brazel said.
“When someone can no longer wear a garment because it’s completely worn out, we can repair it or repurpose it into a new product, or we can recycle it to create an entirely new fabric.”
She said it was hoped Stature would eventually operate from its own manufacturing warehouse, retail space and administration office, to have full control and visibility over its supply chain.
She is currently running the online business from home while also meeting with her mentor, Committee for Perth chief executive Marion Fulker.
The pair met in February through national mentoring organisation Minerva Network, which connects businesswomen to professional sportswomen. Ms Brazel said the mentorship had provided her with a wealth of business knowledge.
“[Marion] has been an amazing help with keeping me in touch with certain people and considering certain aspects of the business that I hadn’t previously thought of,” Ms Brazel said.
“She’s been extremely supportive of my personal development, the business, and my hockey career as well.
“It’s a big-time commitment, being both an entrepreneur and a hockey player, but it’s been really lovely to have this time that I may not have otherwise had and dive into some big business ideas, which Marion has been a huge help with.”
Ms Brazel also used her downtime during the pandemic to launch a podcast, ‘The State of Us’, which she said aimed to motivate people to live sustainably.
“There are going to be episodes every week,” Ms Brazel said.
“I’ll be interviewing many different people – from athletes, authors, teachers, and people in the fashion industry to health experts – to uncover the personal connection that people have to the state of our earth, and how they’re dedicated to and working towards bettering our earth.”
