As a proud Jawoyn woman, protecting the environment is very important to North Melbourne’s Mia King. She tells AFL.com.au about prioritising sustainability in fashion, and avenging 2023’s Grand Final heartbreak
For gun North Melbourne midfielder Mia King, sustainability isn’t just about recycling rubbish and turning off light switches.
Making an effort to shop for second-hand clothes is a small but powerful way the 23-year-old minimises her impact on the planet.
“I was really guilty of online shopping, like buying fast fashion and what was trendy. But you see how quick things go out of fashion,” King told AFL.com.au this week.
“For me, buying second-hand clothing is not contributing to consumerism. And it’s hard! Because you see things on social media and you’re like ‘oh I want that!’ but for me it’s just trying to do less or try to find it second-hand so it’s already in the environment.”
King put her op-shopping skills to the test in an exclusive video for the AFLW social media channels, joining content creator Sam Guggenheimer for a day of thrifting.
While King and Guggenheimer spent the day at op-shops, King said there were so many other ways to shop sustainably.
“I love op-shopping when I have a day off, but I also love other second-hand clothing stores like Goodbyes and Savers, and even looking on Facebook Marketplace or Depop,” she said.
“Sustainability has been really important to me ever since learning about anthropogenic climate change at school.”
A proud Jawoyn woman, King has a strong connection to country, and respecting the land is a key driver in her passion for sustainability.
“Sustainability and being aware of contributions to climate change is so important, it ties in really well with Indigenous Australians and how they’ve kept the land so well for so long,” King said.
“It is something we should all focus on. I know it’s hard in everyday life but where you can, try to lessen your impact on the planet.
“I try to keep sustainability in mind in general, what [AFL/W player-led advocacy group] Footy For Climate is doing is really great.”
After a lengthy off-season in her native Tasmania, King is back in Melbourne as her Kangaroos prepare to avenge last year’s Grand Final loss.
The Roos face premiers Brisbane in their first match of the season, and for King, retribution is top of mind.
“I’m really looking forward to the Grand Final re-match, I think it’ll be a super exciting game,” she said.
“The group was really disappointed with the result of last year’s Grand Final.
“But I think in saying that, we were disappointed, but also like, you know, like really excited that we made our first Grand Final and we worked really hard to get there.
“So I think that in itself was an achievement, I think that when we reflected it felt like we built throughout the season and learned a lot of things along the way and kind of pulled it all together towards the end, which is what our goal was.
“There’s definitely a fire in the belly.”
While noticing a step up in training approach and tactics, King said there was a belief at Arden St that the side already had a strong foundation in place.
“It’s not a brand new program, we made the Grand Final for a reason, so we’re looking at our game plan and working out what worked really well and then looking at things we can tweak.
“Having new players and new coaches brings new perspectives and ideas without too much change.
“A lot of the girls have had a ripper pre-season, hitting PBs [personal best times] in time trials and things like that. I think there’s a sense of us wanting to go to that next step.”
During the lengthy off-season, King would drag members of her family and friends to the local oval in Launceston as some extra motivation while she completed her training program.
With the Roos scheduled to play two games in Tasmania, King is looking forward to the home crowd seeing her hard work pay off.
“I always love the Tassie games, and obviously Indigenous Rounds are really important to me too,” she said.