The Australian Government has granted AU$350,000 in investment to the Australasian Circular Textile Association (ACTA), which has been tasked with identifying promising technologies that can bolster the country’s recycling and reuse infrastructure. The allocation of funds was announced by Minister for the Environment Sussan Ley, who’s scheduled a roundtable to discuss Australia’s textile waste issues later this year.
The meeting, the date for which is yet to be disclosed, is expected to convene representatives from waste management, production, charity, and retail and fashion, with Kmart and the Australian Fashion Council already confirming their participation. Minister Ley cited that 800,000 tonnes of clothing and textiles are being discarded each year in the country.
“We all have to wear clothes but we are buying them at such a rate that we don’t know what to do with them when they are too old. too worn, or simply out of fashion,” she said.
“According to the ACTA, parents who have just been purchasing school uniforms and trades getting ready for the year ahead will contribute 12,000 tonnes of branded uniforms alone to landfill in the next 12 months.”
In a bid to put an end to this culture of vast waste, the government has awarded a AU$350,000 grant to the ACTA which it’s hoped can lay the foundations for more circular practices within fashion supply chains. Led by the waste management group Circular Threads, the focus of these efforts will be on identifying solution providers that can improve the country’s existing recycling infrastructure, particularly in the areas of repurposing cotton and polyester.
“We need an industry led approach to find the ways we can break down clothing elements and re-use individual components and the fabrics themselves,” ACTA Founder and CEO, Camille Reed, said.
“There are some key technologies around the corner in terms of breaking down cotton and polyester blends and we need to be in a position to make the most of those opportunities.”
