Recent figures have revealed that Australia has surpassed the United States as the biggest textile consumer in the world.
So, just what is the Issue?
The Australia Institute, Circular Economy and Waste Program director, Nina Gbor said fast fashion outlets had a huge impact on the environment.
“Shein and Temu are expected to make more than $2 billion in sales this year combined,” she said.
The Australia Institute shows that that more than 200,000 tonnes of clothing ends up in landfill each year and that this compares to the size of four Sydney Harbour Bridges, according to a report released this month.
“We need to drastically reduce waste at the source by penalising brands mass-producing incredibly cheap and poor quality clothing that is often worn just a handful of times or never sells and goes straight to the tip,” Ms Gbor said.
Australian Institute employee Olivia Chollet said the main contributor to textile wastage was the fast fashion trend.
“The phenomenal growth in the rate of textile waste has been driven largely by the ‘fast fashion’ phenomenon, in which large amounts of poorly made, cheaply priced clothes are quickly manufactured and constantly released into the market,” Ms Chollet said.
“Shein launches up to 7,200 new items per day, and is reportedly able to produce a clothing item, from design to packaging, within a week.
“This fast fashion ‘trendmill’ means that overproduction and overconsumption have become longstanding fashion trends.”
Image Source: National Geographic
So, what are the environmental impacts?
The stressor with fast fashion environmentally, lies in the materials used to make the garments. The cheaper the garment, the worse the material is for the environment, according to Ms Chollet.
South Coast textiles teacher, Bonnie Butler backs this statement by reflecting on what the cheap materials are.
“The cheap materials, polyester, viscous, nylon, are all plastic based products and really cheap to make,” she said.
The Australia Institute shows that every hour textile waste contributes the equivalent of 18,000 litres of oil to landfills in Australia. Materials like polyester, can be hazard to the environment.
“When washed, a polyester garment sheds up to 1,900 non-biodegradable microfibres, which enter wastewater systems and eventually end up in rivers and oceans,” the Australia Institute report said.
Ms Butler admitted that she has fallen guilty to purchasing a few items made of poor quality materials.
“I have fallen into the trap of buying things from Princess Polly. I’ve bought from Shein in the past, although now I’ve literally done university assessments of why I would never shop there again,”she said.
When surveyed, 56 per cent could not identify the source of polyester, although the majority of the participants identified the source as petroleum.
“Polyester, which is derived from petroleum, accounts for more than half of the clothing sold in Australia, the report said.
A survey conducted by the Australia Institute has revealed how more than a thousand Australians feel about textile wastage.
In light of Australians being more aware of their ethical consumption, fashion brands are also becoming more conscious of their clothing lines.
As stated by 9Style, H&M became conscious of the environment five years ago when they came out with their “Conscious Collection” which are garments made from sustainably sourced materials.
“In 2030 we aim for 100 percent of our materials to be sustainable and recyclable,” H&M’s sustainability manager in the Southeast Asia region, Wong Xin-Yi said.
So, what does the future of textile wastage look like?
Clean Up has a list of ways people can help to reduce the impact of fast fashion; by suggesting people wear garments more than once, taking care of our clothes, or even repairing our clothes instead of just throwing them away.
The report said Australians may not be educated on how to properly care for their clothing and throw garments out instead of repairing them (31 per cent).
The Australian Institute has suggested some solutions, including ‘Seamless’, which is a Commonwealth Government program that was 2022.
“(Seamless aims to) improve the design, recovery, reuse and recycling of textiles, providing a roadmap to 2030 for clothing circularity in Australia in line with National Waste Policy Action Plan targets,” the Seamless website said.
Brands that join in this scheme pay a 4-cent levy on each garment sold and these funds go towards supporting textile recycling.
However, Ms Gbor said the levy was too low to change brand behaviour and said it should be increased to at least 50 cents.
The data above reveals Australians’ attitudes regarding who should be liable for eliminating textile waste. This aligns with the increase on Seamless recommendations.