A Q&A with Mellissa from GAME Clothing

Hi Mellissa! To start, could you tell us a little about yourself and your journey with Game Clothing?

My name is Mellissa Pashen – I am the Director here at GAME Clothing. I have been here for the past 22 years. I am chief problem solver, so my role is very diverse. I like to spend time with the staff on the floor – seeing day to day what is happening and working closely with our production manager.

I also work closely with the admin staff, working with the team and chatting with customers.

For readers discovering Game Clothing for the first time, how would you describe the business and what you make?

What makes us unique to the sportswear industry is that we are fully locally made – and we have been since the beginning of our operation. My mum (Gayle) started the company 32 years ago under my childhood home, just manufacturing clothes for the local sports clubs that we were involved in.

It grew significantly after that – by word of mouth and commitment from my family.
What got us there: staying true to locally made clothing. Not only is it so important to our values and our long-term employees who have been with us from the start, it is what we are most proud of as a business.

I think after being in production for so long, you do develop some really great networks (whether that’s customers, suppliers, colleagues), that make it easy to stay local. There is so much talent to be harnessed right here in our community.

Local production is also all about control – not having to rely on overseas industries to keep us in business. I get to go out on the floor every day and see exactly where everything is up to and ensure the highest quality of our products. It allows us to put the care in our garments, from the first stages – attention to detail that few others take in the manufacturing industry.

You mentioned it all started with local sports clubs. How has the range of what you manufacture evolved since those early days?

Our roots will always be in netball – that’s how it all started. My sister and I used to play as teenagers, and we were simply too tall to find dresses! But when everyone else saw the unique care and energy my mum put into making our uniforms – others wanted to get on board.

Since then, we’ve expanded. Pretty much any sport you think of, we can manufacture for. A lot of our core products (singlets, t-shirts, bike pants, crop tops) can be used across multiple sports, or even generic training.

But we also specialise in sport-specific playing gear – volleyball, cricket, football, softball, basketball, golf, even roller derby and laser tag.

Can you walk us through what happens once a club or school gets in touch, from that first conversation through to a finished uniform?

We start with a generic pattern – all garment shapes have been tried, tested and produced many thousands of times. The fit is set and ready to go.

The design process is completely dependent on the client. We have a design team in house who work closely with our customers. They gather information (colours, logos, concepts), make some drafts and consult with the client until they are 100% happy with their garment.

When we have an approved design, it gets through to manufacturing.

Once a design is approved and moves into production, what do you focus on to make sure the finished garment actually performs on the field?

Fit, fit, fit! The shape of the garment is so important. We are very passionate in this space.

For a long time, athletes (particularly women) are put into uniforms that were not designed to fit their bodies. This can be one factor in why we see so many girls drop out of sport in those teenage years.

That’s why, with every new garment, so much research and development goes in to making sure the piece is not even a consideration while you’re playing sports. The uniform should be there to enhance your experience, not detract from it.

What’s the biggest challenge Game Clothing has had to navigate, and how have you approached it?

There will always be challenges in Australian manufacturing, being able to navigate them with our community is what it’s all about.

One of the biggest challenges for us, is competing with offshore supply.

Even though we work in the same industry and supply the same products – it runs on a completely different business model. And it is not focused on the customer, but the revenue.

That means that the quality is lower, the colours are inconsistent and the customer service is lacking – but it will be cheaper.

What we want to do in overcoming this challenge, is ask people to consider where they put their money. GAME will convince you that investing in local business is not only more ethical, but a guaranteed high-quality product that is delivered with care and on time.

Given those challenges of staying local in such a competitive landscape, what are you most proud of having achieved along the way?

Being here 32 years later. That isn’t even a joke. Staying in business in Australia’s manufacturing industry is something to be proud of.

We don’t need to achieve beyond that. Being here, and being able to support the families we have supplied for since the beginning, is an achievement we are proud of.

We are proud of our staff, and the way we treat them.

We have also had a push for sustainability. I am really proud of that. Almost two years ago, we partnered with BlockTexx who convert our fabric waste into recycled plastic pellets. The amount of fabric we have recycled is over 10 tonnes. We have converted to more sustainable packaging and our factory is also largely powered by solar energy.

We know we have a long way to go, but the fact we are moving in the right direction is a breath of fresh air. There is so much more on the agenda.

Game Clothing recently became accredited with Ethical Clothing Australia. What led you to pursue that accreditation?

Ethical Clothing Australia is an important one for us, because we are so passionate about being Australian made. We want to share that with everyone. It is most important to us that we are doing the right thing by every person we work with – from our customers, staff and supply chain. Ethical Clothing Australia provides that assurance for us, that we are on the right track.

To learn more about GAME Clothing, visit their brand and manufacturer directory listings as well as their website.