Merchandise Supplier: Tas Textiles

Tasmanian businesses are quite literally weaving the fabric of the Tasmania Football Club with the next batch of Devils’ merchandise in the final stages of production.

Following the release of the highly popular Devils’ foundation jumper, scarves, beanies, hoodies and a range of t-shirts are currently being produced by local businesses, who are working feverishly to meet the expected demand.

Tas Textiles is producing handcrafted chunky woollen beanies and scarves from its Glenorchy-based factory and the company’s small team of workers is thrilled to be a part of the project.

“It’s absolutely fantastic, everyone here was just so excited,” Linda Goram-Aitken executive manager at Tas Textiles said.

“We are only a tiny little factory out in the northern suburbs – 31 employees – so for us to come up with a product and be part of it right from the get go is really exciting…

“We really have been woven into the fabric of this club.”

Making football club merchandise is a significant deviation from the usual work undertaken by Tas Textiles with tourist products and school knitwear accounting for the bulk of their output.

The company boasts a proud history dating back to 1940’s and plays an important community function employing 17 people with intellectual disabilities.

“A lot of them have been here long term, they are all very highly skilled… the work is very specialised so they are very valued,” Goram-Aitken said.

“All of our employees here, they’ve joined up as founding [Devils’] members… the guys are really proud of what we’ve done and can’t wait to see people walking around in them.

The beanies and scarves are being knitted from Australian yarn, which has been dyed green in keeping with the Tasmania Football Club’s eye-catching palette.

The company can produce approximately 450 completed pieces per fortnight.

“They look beautiful, the colour is really nice and they are just so lovely and soft,” Goram-Aitken said.

The new batch of Tasmania Football Club merchandise including the chunky beanies and scarves handcrafted by Tas Textiles will be available to Devils’ members for purchase Monday 8 July at 9am AEST.