Hundreds of surplus garments and unsold merchandise produced for British Olympic athletes will be sold to the public under a new partnership aimed at reducing sports apparel waste.
The initiative involves specialist resale platform Kitround, with proceeds going to the Team GB Foundation, the charitable arm of the British Olympic Association. An initial launch will make 700 unused items from the Paris 2024 Games available, including opening ceremony outfits, tracksuits, hoodies and jackets currently held in a warehouse on England's south coast. Unworn apparel from the Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Games is also stored at the facility.
The programme addresses a broader disposal problem across elite athletics. According to sustainability consultancy 5thread, up to 100,000 items of sports apparel end up in UK landfills each year. European football governing body UEFA has separately estimated that up to 60 percent of professional team clothing is discarded at the end of each season, although that figure has not been independently verified.
Joanna Czutkowna, director of 5thread and a researcher in sports apparel, noted that procurement practices across elite sport generate substantial leftovers before final squads are named. "A lot of this kit is bought before they know which athletes are going to complete in the sport or the event. So there's a lot of excess stock generated at the point of order," Czutkowna said, pointing out that restrictive commercial contracts can also prohibit reuse.
Other sporting bodies, including Sail GP and the Royal Yachting Association, have also started using resale platforms to sell elite gear to the public at discounted prices. British kitesurfer Lily Young, who is targeting the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, noted that passing on surplus equipment can help lower financial barriers for aspiring competitors.
Jen Rouse, managing director of the Team GB Foundation, said ordering practices are becoming more precise to limit surpluses, while officials are also considering producing apparel without dates or event names so items can be reused across multiple Olympic cycles. Rouse rejected suggestions that leftover gear had been neglected in the past: "It's not necessarily been sitting gathering dust in storage. It's always found a way out."
Adam Stevens, co-founder of Kitround, said finding alternative homes for elite clothing prevents items from being discarded while making sportswear accessible to those who cannot afford new apparel. "A kit was made to be worn. It was made to be out there on the field, on the water, in the pool, and it should be back out there," Stevens said.
