A new scheme targets circular fashion industry
Every year, Australians buy about 15kg of new clothing per person, and around the same amount is thrown away. Although second-hand clothing stores and social enterprise retailers do their part in reducing waste by giving clothes a second chance, Australia still has a significant task ahead when it comes to managing, redirecting, and reusing clothing.
But fear not, because the fashion and textile industry in Australia isn't taking this lying down.
They're teaming up to make a real, measurable environmental difference. Leading the charge is the Australian Fashion Council (AFC), which has formed a consortium with Charitable Recycling Australia, Queensland University of Technology, Sustainable Resource Use, and WRAP. Together, they're creating Australia's first-ever National Clothing Product Stewardship Scheme. This awesome initiative is being funded by the Australian Federal Government and aims to revolutionize the way we design, recover, reuse, and recycle clothing. The goal? To achieve a circular fashion industry in Australia by 2030.
With this scheme, they're hoping to make the Australian fashion industry a global leader in circular design.
They want to shake things up, drive innovation, and encourage people to change their habits when it comes to clothing. By recycling clothing in valuable ways, they're determined to make a positive impact. The National Clothing Product Stewardship Scheme is the roadmap that will guide us toward this brighter future.
When will it be implemented?
The scheme aims to improve the design, recovery, reuse and recycling of textiles, providing a roadmap to 2030 for clothing circularity in Australia. It is due to begin operation in July 2024.
With this roadmap in hand, Australia aims to achieve a net zero fashion and textile industry by 2050. Pretty impressive, right? It's a collective effort to turn things around and create a more sustainable and responsible fashion industry.
To learn more about the design of the new scheme, CLICK HERE.