Cth renews push for more product stewardship for textiles

The Federal
Government is planning to host a national roundtable on textile waste as part
of its broader efforts to promote product stewardship.

It is also investing $350,000 in Circular Threads – a new group to be led by the Australasian Circular Textile Association (ACTA) – to help reduce textile waste, particularly unwanted uniforms and workwear.

It is
estimated Australians discard 800,000 tonnes of clothing and textiles each year
– and ACTA says parents who have just been buying school uniforms, as well as tradesmen
getting ready for the year ahead, will contribute 12,000 tonnes of branded
uniforms alone to landfill in the next 12 months.

Circular
Threads will look at new technologies that can separate and re-purpose
polyester and cotton components and create remanufacturing opportunities, and jobs
in Australia.

ACTA founder
and CEO Camille Reed said: “We need an industry-led approach to find the ways
we can break down clothing elements and reuse individual components and
actually the fabrics themselves.

“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.”

As part of its own efforts to promote a circular economy, the Commonwealth has implemented new sustainable procurement guidelines that will require federal government departments to consider materials with recycled components and to take into account end-of-life disposal when determining contracts.

The Circular Threads investment is coming from the $20 million National Product Stewardship Investment Fund, which aims to increase the number of industry-led product stewardship schemes or expand existing schemes.