For more than a decade, a handful of ideas have shaped how organisations talk about change. Big data dominated boardrooms before the initial rush settled into quieter, more practical adoption. Artificial intelligence has followed a similar curve, reaching peak visibility between 2023 and 2024 as businesses speculated about its potential.
Today, the circular economy is moving into that same spotlight. Circularity now appears in annual reports, climate strategies, investor briefings and product launches. It raises a useful question: is the circular economy entering a hype cycle, and where does sport fit within this shift
Circularity: from specialist idea to mainstream conversation
A circular economy aims to keep materials in use for longer, reduce waste, and limit the demand for new resources. It stands in contrast to the linear “take–make–dispose” model that shaped much of the past century.
Across industry, adoption is accelerating. NatWest reports a 60% reduction in operational waste across its estate since 2019 through improved reuse and recycling systems. Meanwhile, Visa, TOMRA and the City of Aarhus have piloted a digital deposit-refund system for reusable takeaway cups — effectively turning payment infrastructure into a reuse tool.
And, at the same time, “circular economy” now appears on surveys of the most overused business buzzwords, a sign that visibility is outpacing implementation.
This does not diminish the idea. It simply suggests a familiar pattern: broad enthusiasm ahead of deep structural change.
The numbers show a split reality
The global picture is mixed. The latest Circularity Gap Report estimates that only 6.9% of global material demand is currently met through recycled or reused inputs, a share that has been declining.
Yet investment is rising sharply.
Circularity-related ventures raised US$164bn between 2018 and 2023, with investment accelerating in the final years of that period. Still, this represents only ~2% of tracked corporate finance.
Net-zero insights data shows that 17.9% of environmental technology funding in 2024 went to circular solutions, highlighting investor confidence; meanwhile, other market forecasts expect the circular-economy sector to reach the hundreds of billions of dollars by the early 2030s, with sustained double-digit annual growth.
Taken together, these figures suggest a classic hype-curve moment: rising investment and public attention, but limited transformation so far.
Circularity in sport: a broader landscape than kit alone
Sport rarely features in circular-economy conversations, yet the sector is already adopting circular and sustainable practices at scale.
Across venues and stadiums, circularity is taking shape in several ways:
- Reusable cup systems at major stadiums to dramatically reduce single-use plastic.
- Energy-efficient lighting and smart-building systems cut consumption; Allianz Stadium’s LED transformation reduced lighting demand by over 50%.
- Closed-loop waste programmes are becoming the norm, with many venues separating food waste, plastics, and compostables at source.
- Long-life procurement, from reusable signage to refurbishable seating, is increasingly common.
These initiatives show that the circular economy in sport touches infrastructure, procurement, waste management and fan behaviour.
Within this wider landscape, kit represents a specific, community-facing dimension of circularity: it is visible, practical, and tied directly to participation; how long equipment stays in use, how it moves through communities, and who gains access as a result are all part of circular sport, but not the whole story.
Circularity through kit: a distinct opportunity
Compared with other sectors, sporting equipment behaves differently:
- Cycling: bikes can last more than a decade; community workshops already exemplify circular repair culture.
- Cricket: bats, helmets and pads are routinely passed between age groups and across clubs.
- Tennis: rackets are long-lasting assets, and restringing extends their usability.
- Swimming: minimal kit needs illustrate how some sports generate inherently low material turnover.
These examples suggest that circular sport is not a single idea, it is a pattern of behaviours shaped by the characteristics of each sport and community.
From slogans to practical circular sport
Circularity is only meaningful when it appears in behaviour rather than brand language. In sport, this means:
- Using kit for longer.
- Passing items on rather than disposing of them.
- Improving access for families and communities.
- Ensuring reuse becomes the norm rather than the exception.
Measurement is essential here. Without evidence, circular sport risks falling into the realm of ‘green-washing’, an issue highlighted by the European Commission.
How we approach this at kitround
At kitround, we focus on a simple behaviour: keeping kit in play.
Through our platform and kitround360, partners can:
- Collect kit that still has usable life.
- Redistribute it through kitshops and community networks.
- Crucially, understand the environmental and community impact created.
kitround360 helps partners see not only the emission or water savings associated with extended kit life, but also how funding raised is reinvested, who benefits locally, and which community programmes grow as a result. It brings clarity to an area where evidence is often limited.
What this looks like in practice
Over the past year, kitround360 has helped partners generate clear, measurable outcomes across different parts of the sporting community. Through campaigns and kitshops:
- More than 62,000kg of CO₂e was saved through a multi-site programme with David Lloyd Clubs.
- Volleyball England reinvested funds from its kitshop directly into growing grassroots participation.
- The London Irish Foundation achieved environmental savings alongside charitable income that fed directly back into its community programmes.
- Cold Harbour Primary School launched a new American flag football club using redistributed kit, enabling pupils to access a sport they previously couldn’t.
These examples demonstrate how circularity in sport becomes tangible: environmental benefit and social benefit move together when kit is kept in play.
If the circular economy is entering a hype cycle, sport has room to lead quietly
Hype cycles create noise, but also opportunity. Circularity may be heading toward peak visibility, yet sport is uniquely positioned to contribute meaningfully:
- Its infrastructure increasingly incorporates sustainable and circular practices.
- Its equipment naturally has a long service life.
- Its community networks are well-suited to sharing, repairing, passing on and redistributing.
Sport does not need to compete with the hype. It simply needs to continue making circularity practical, grounded and measurable, keeping kit in play and letting evidence speak for itself.
