As of May 2024, Australia became the world leader in clothing consumption per capita. Not our proudest moment.
Australians buy an average of 56 new items of clothing per year at an average value of $13. In the USA, the average is 53 items ($24) and in the UK it’s 33 items ($40) (source: The Australia Institute, 2024).
When it comes to clothing waste, here in Australia we mostly bury it (more than 200,000 tonnes in landfill per year) or export it (62% of donated clothes are sent overseas).
Here at MVS we are working hard to give textiles a longer useful life by encouraging “Reduce, Reuse, Upcycle, Repurpose and Recycle”. We are undertaking the following activities to get this happening at a local level and have pulled together this information to help you reduce your textile waste.
Our Mending Circle is part of the monthly Waste Not Hub held at Dwell (Ascot Vale Church of Christ) every second Saturday of the month. So if you have clothes that need fixing – maybe a seam has split, your favourite jumper has a hole, or a button has come off – come along to our Mending Circle from 10am – 12pm to meet experienced sewers with machines and hand-mending equipment to work with you on giving your clothes a longer life!
Our ongoing, monthly Clothes Swap is also part of the Waste Not Hub every second Saturday of the month at Dwell from 10am-12pm.
Bring some clothes and/or take some clothes – swap is the new sell! Swap clothes you’ve loved but are ready to part with other’s preloved garments. There are no costs and no restrictions on what is accepted but try to think about what you or a friend or a family member would be keen to take home, and if you have any seasonally-appropriate items each month (e.g. Winter coats for the upcoming Winter).
Our idea is to create a practice of sharing our clothes among our community for extended and accessible use rather than having to buy new or cheap. So before going to the shops or even the Op Shop, come to our Clothes Swap!
We can also change the ways that we shop for clothes – from buying secondhand and quality items, over fast fashion, to not buying at all! Here are some tips and places we know and enjoy to buy secondhand, quality, and less!
Secondhand textiles and clothing
Buying less by using more
When we do buy, buy textile and clothing garments with natural fibres – those that come from plants and animals – not plastic and fossil fuels.
Synthetic fibres – like polyester, nylon, spandex, olefin, and acrylic – are artificially made from chemical substances. These materials are designed for clothing convenience; however, they rely heavily on fossil fuels like petroleum and natural gas for their production and are not biodegradable, taking up significant space in landfills or are being dumped onto other lands and waterways with the acceleration of fast fashion. These fibres are thus harmful to long-term planetary and social sustainability.
Natural fibres are generally biodegradable, breaking down over time, and can do less harm to the planet in terms of production and waste. As an added bonus – they’re breathable and often more comfortable to wear! Nomad lists five basic types of plant fibres:
Still, fibres can have diverse impacts based on their production and uses. See a breakdown of textile impact for natural, synthetic, and semi-synthetic fibres here – Textile Fibres.
How we care for the clothing we have can also play a big part in its longevity and impact, from washing to repair.
Here are some best practices:
With all of these practices for reducing textile waste, it must not be lost that textile waste is a global and systemic problem. It is on producers and profit-driving corporations to take greater responsibility – and governments to ensure greater accountability – for the long-term impacts of textile consumption and waste on our shared and finite planet.
Citizens and their communities, like us, can also take on more intentional roles by becoming their own local producers, e.g. sharing and swapping clothes amongst each other or repairing our garments for greater use, and ethical consumers, e.g. buying quality, secondhand, or natural fibres and rehoming/disposing of textiles properly. Only together we will be able to truly rethink Textile Waste!
Local businesses: Look for shoe repairers. tailors, alteration businesses, mechanics, engineers, jewellers….. theyre all in the business of fixing. In doing so you are often supporting local family businesses as well.
Or even build your own skills by learning how to mend:
Check your local library for upcoming workshops on sewing/repair/etc.
MVS member’s favourite local op shops: Helping Hands Mission (Airport West), Brotherhood of St Lawrence (Moonee Ponds) and Christ Church Opportunity Shop (Essendon)
Platforms that help you to rehome: