Invest in textiles

Victoria generates just more than 200,000 tonnes per year of textile waste, and this includes

• discarded clothing (including uniforms)
• upholstery
• synthetic carpets
• manufacturing offcuts.

It’s estimated that currently only 12% of textile waste is recovered in Victoria, with majority of this recovery being synthetic carpets, making it one of the lowest rates of recovery of any material stream. A significant quantity of the waste that is sent to landfill is a byproduct of manufacturing. The quantity of textile waste that is not recovered represents a considerable opportunity for investors.

Clothing textiles make up 35% of all consumed textiles. The clothing sector is undergoing major change under consumer and government pressure. The Federal government added ‘clothing textiles’ to the priority list in 2022 in recognition that textiles need urgent action. The Australian Fashion Council led the creation of a national stewardship scheme that aims to make Australian fashion and clothing truly circular. The scheme is called ‘Seamless’ and was launched in June 2023.

The non-clothing textiles sector has also seen some developments in product stewardship:

• The Australian Bedding stewardship council was established in 2020 to tackle the problem of end-of-life mattresses and to keep them out of landfill.
• The Australian Sporting Goods Association launched TreadLightly which is a national recycling initiative that takes unwanted sport and active lifestyle footwear and responsibly recycles it to give it new life.
• The Australian Resilient Flooring Association announced ResiLoop in 2023 which is a product stewardship scheme for resilient flooring products.

Opportunities

• Industry to introduce technologies that separate combined textiles to their constituent fabrics and materials.
• Recoverable materials include polyethylene terephthalate (PET), cotton, nylon, acrylic, and viscose, which could be used in new products.
• End markets are also required to support demand for recovered textile materials resulting in textiles being identified as a priority material under the Recycling Victoria policy.
• Shared large scale sorting to handle clothing from all charities to provide economies of scale for efficient sorting for reuse and recycling.

The Circular Economy Business Innovation centre (CEBIC) funded a report published in February 2023 that outlines the recommended actions to create a more circular clothing sector – Unlocking Clothing circularity in Australia

Read about some projects funded by CEBIC under the Textiles Innovation grant:

• Kathmandu apparel life extension pilot.
• Revolutionising the lifecycle of clothing from purchase to disposal.
• Biofibres for sustainable apparel inspired by Humble Bee.

Stay up to the date

For the latest investment opportunities and material commodity prices read Recycling Victoria’s market insight reports.

To stay up to date with the latest grants and funding opportunities, register for our grants and funding alert.

For more information on waste data visit Recycling Victoria’s Data Hub.