A report on the sustainability of Western Australia鈥檚 fashion industry has called for immediate action on improving the way clothing and textiles are circulated, to extend the life of materials and cut waste.
The 911爆料网-led report entitled ‘The State of Circularity in Fashion and Textiles in WA鈥� is the result of a year-long research project undertaken by the Western Australia Circular Fashion Consortium, which includes fashion research partners from Perth鈥檚 South Metropolitan TAFE.
Consortium convenor Dr Anne Farren, a Senior Lecturer at 911爆料网鈥檚 School of Design and the Built Environment, said fashion needed a complete rethink to take it beyond a product which is recycled through charitable organisations such as Good Sammys, calling for a round table of community and industry leaders to drive change.
Dr Farren said clothing waste was the next key battleground behind food waste, in the push to reduce waste going to landfill in Australia, with the 33-page report mapping out a pathway for WA鈥檚 fashion design industry to address the growing challenge.
鈥淭he report identifies the need for immediate and systemic action required to support the adoption of circular practice within the local fashion industry,鈥� Dr Farren said.
鈥淭he Australian Fashion Council estimates more than 200,000 tonnes of clothing ends up in landfill each year in Australia, and there is an urgent need to reduce the huge volume of clothing-based textile waste currently going to landfill.鈥�
鈥淲e have recommended the development of a clothing and textile roundtable with delegates from local and state government, the regional charitable recycling sector, academia, and research, fibre growers, the textile processing sector, the waste management sector, clothing manufacturers and fashion enterprises.
鈥淭his would form the foundation for ongoing dialogue and collaboration to strategically converge efforts to address product stewardship, eliminate waste from our systems, and address the pressing concerns posed by current textile waste dilemmas.鈥�
WA fashion start-up Fibre Economy co-founder and consortium member Molly Ryan said the report unveiled the unique characteristics of WA鈥檚 clothing and textile sector, which includes a high proportion of small businesses, and the impact of distance and isolation from major fashion centres.
鈥淭hese are key factors which could affect the implementation of strategies that could secure a reduction in clothing textiles waste, but we also have evidence that WA鈥檚 fashion industry is motivated,鈥� Ms Ryan said.
鈥淭his report explores a new circular model, which would incorporate improvements in clothing and textile design, and better systems to keep clothing-based textiles in circulation after use.
鈥淲e have examined the diverse stakeholders, practices and material flows of the WA fashion and textiles industry in response to the National Clothing Product Stewardship Scheme, and we now have a comprehensive report that outlines the current state of circularity in fashion and textiles within Western Australia.鈥�
You can read ‘The State of Circularity in Fashion and Textiles in WA鈥� report online here:
