Sustainable Futures for Women & Girls in Cricket: Designing a More Circular, Inclusive and Accessible Game

24^th September 2026
11.00am – 4.00pm
AFC Wimbledon
SW17 0NR

The event is part of the Circular Cultures in Wandsworth (2C) Project, funded by UKRI via University for the Creative Arts, AHRC Impact Acceleration Account (IAA).

Facilitated by: Professor Martin Charter and Dr Lilian Sanchez Moreno from The Centre for Sustainable Design® (CfSD) at UCA.

Background
Cricket is the world’s second most-played sport and relies on large amounts of specialist gear and clothing, much of which has a significant environmental footprint. In England and Wales alone, an estimated 1,646 tonnes of cricket equipment becomes waste each year. While sustainability efforts in the sport have often focused on venues and events, far less attention has been given to the clothing and gear players use.

Climate change is a growing challenge, particularly for grassroots cricket. As England cricketer Maia Bouchier notes, “Climate change has been impacting cricket quite dramatically over the last couple of years. The grassroots clubs with fewer resources struggle to maintain or upgrade their infrastructure to cope.” This highlights the need to consider sustainability alongside resilience, accessibility and inclusion.

The growth of women’s and girls’ cricket raises further questions about whether existing equipment, products and systems adequately support participation. CfSD research in 2024 identified initial gender-related differences in attitudes and practices around cricket equipment. While the findings do not indicate that women are inherently more sustainability-conscious than men, women were more likely to identify manufacturing emissions as important, showed greater interest in product care, and were more likely to repair equipment such as batting pads, gloves and clothing. These findings suggest that gender may influence how equipment is purchased, used, maintained and repaired, while highlighting the need for further research.

This workshop will explore how circular approaches to the design, manufacture, use, repair, reuse and end-of-life of cricket equipment could help address wider barriers to women’s and girls’ participation. It will move beyond the question of how to make cricket equipment more sustainable towards considering how a more circular and inclusive cricket system can better respond to the needs and experiences of women and girls.

The workshop will bring together relevant stakeholders to identify key challenges and opportunities and establish priorities for future research and action.

Audience
The workshop is designed for stakeholders involved in women’s and girls’ cricket, including players, coaches, clubs, governing bodies, manufacturers, retailers, kit and equipment designers, repair and reuse providers, sustainability professionals, researchers and other organisations working to support participation in the sport.

The workshop is free of charge, but places are limited to 25 participants, so early booking is strongly recommended to secure your place.

Programme
The programme will be facilitated by Professor Martin Charter and Dr Lilian Sanchez Moreno from The Centre for Sustainable Design® (CfSD) at UCA.

• 11:00-11:10    Registration and introductions
• 11:10-11:40    Introduction to the circular economy and PASIC research
  Focus on findings related to sustainability; gear lifetimes; reuse; repair/refurbishment; sustainable materials; gender differences; barriers to circularity. Establish connection between sustainability and the development of women’s and girls’ cricket.
• 11:40-12:10    Women’s cricket: the kit problem*
  Leigh Burns, Founder and CEO, Lacuna Sports: presentation on why female cricket wear was developed; fit, comfort, confidence, performance, design and the historical male-centric approach to cricket clothing and gear. Explore where sustainability intersects with women’s kit needs.
• 12:10-12:40    Surrey County Cricket Club*
  Emily Iveson-Pritchard, Head of Sustainability, The Kia Oval, Surrey County Cricket Club: what can a professional cricket organisation actually influence? Grounds, facilities, procurement, cricket gear, clothing, community programmes, players, partners and young cricketers.
• 12:40-1:15    Lunch break / Networking
• 1:15-2:00    Workshop 1: Mapping women’s/girls’ cricket journey
  Map the lifecycle of a female cricketer’s kit: buy → use → care → repair → replace → pass on/reuse → end of life. Identify environmental, financial and social barriers at each stage.
• 2:00-2:45    Workshop 2: What would a genuinely sustainable women’s cricket system look like?
  Discuss cost; availability of repair; performance concerns; hygiene/safety; appearance/stigma; lack of knowledge; fit; changing fashions; sponsorship; lack of take-back systems; access to second-hand kit; convenience.
• 2:45-3:30    Workshop 3: Design solution
  Develop one practical intervention. Examples: women’s cricket wear take-back scheme; women’s/girls’ kit bank; repair clinics; sustainable procurement framework; school-to-club reuse system; circular sponsorship model; repair tutorials; circular women’s cricket wear pilot.
• 3:30-3:40    Concept pitch
  Each group gives a 2-minute pitch. Participants vote against impact × feasibility × ability to scale.
• 3:40-4:00    Action plan discussion and concluding remarks

*To be confirmed

Registration
The event is free of charge, but you need to register via rcarruthers@uca.ac.uk by sending your Name, Surname, and Role/Job. On receipt, you will be sent confirmation and directions to the venue.

Funding
The event is part of the 2C project, funded by UKRI via University for the Creative Arts, AHRC Impact Acceleration Account (IAA).