The Australian Fashion Council officially launched proceedings for its Clothing & Textile Stewardship Scheme yesterday, in a webinar attended by over 500 viewers.
The webinar attracted viewers from all areas of the textile supply chain including fashion brands and retailers, clothing re-users, recyclers, remanufacturers and collectors, industry experts and academics, and government bodies.
The information session was centred on introducing the problem (read: textiles ending up in landfill), the people and businesses who are involved in bringing the scheme to life, the data we currently have on the issue, and the potential solutions.
So what data do we have?
Additionally, the sector imports about 1.42 billion items each year that are valued at $9.27 billion.
Roughly, that works out to be 373,000 tonnes of new clothing imported annually, while local manufacturing only makes up 15% of total market.
With imported clothing and local manufacturing combined, total new clothing in Australia equates to about 429,000 tonnes each year – roughly 16kg per person per year.
Total clothing in use – which includes existing garments – is about 1,601,250 tonnes.
Of the clothing in use, >40% is formally donated, while a further >12% is informally sold, swapped or donated through channels like hand-me-downs, marketplaces and re-selling apps.
Meanwhile, 800,000 tonnes of textile waste gets sent to landfills in Australia, according to the National Clothing & Textiles Waste Roundtable.
And while many may think they're doing the right thing by donating their clothes, not all of it gets sold, with Australian charities disposing of 24,000 tonnes of clothing annually.
A further 105,900 tonnes of second-hand clothing is exported overseas to be sold or discarded there.
So, what to do about it?
That's exactly what the AFC's Scheme aims to address.
The initial meeting was to outline the aims of the Scheme and to start the conversation with the industry to generate knowledge sharing.
The AFC aims to create the Scheme with industry input from a wide range of stakeholders to create a solution/s to the textile waste problem and encourage a circular economy for clothing.
Charitable Recycling Australia CEO Omer Soker summed up the session perfectly in his final address.
"We're embarking on what is a generational shift in how Australians manage clothing, textile waste, and approach decisions in relation to fashion circularity experts, consumers, industry and government.
"We're about to embark on an exciting and challenging journey to determine what the best scheme is for Australia's unique way of life.
"So from stewards to recirculators, to government, industry and consumers, we're in this together, shoulder to shoulder.
"We can co-design and create what will be an exemplary model in managing waste and transitioning to a circular economy that will reduce our environmental impact while growing our economic and social impacts," he said.
Organisations looking to be involved in the Scheme's development should contact the AFC.