A decade inside the industry. Then two children. Then a decision.

I've spent over a decade in global sportswear. And for most of that time, I looked the other way.

I knew that nearly 90% of the sportswear industry runs on plastic - polyester, nylon, elastane. Chosen not because they're best for the person wearing them, but because they're cheap, scaleable, and good for margin. I knew these fibres shed microplastics every time they're worn and washed - tiny particles that enter our water, our food, and our bodies. I knew the industry was calling recycled plastic sustainable and hoping nobody looked too closely.

And I kept showing up to work anyway.

Then I became a parent. And something shifted.

I couldn't keep building a career inside a system I didn't believe in. Not anymore. Not with kids who'd inherit whatever we left behind.

So I started building something different.

Underscored is a performance sportswear brand built entirely without petroleum-derived fibres. We start at the fibre, using natural and bio-based materials that genuinely outperform synthetics for comfort, breathability, and durability. Created for women who play racket sports. Designed in London. Made in Portugal.

One rule from day one: no petroleum-derived fibres. Not as a compromise. As a genuine performance proposition. If a material required fossil fuels, we went back to the drawing board.

That one rule shaped everything.

We launched in February 2026. We're small. We're early. We have a long way to go.
But I'd rather build something I believe in from scratch than keep polishing something I don't.

Stuart - Founder, Underscored