Textiles circular economy opportunities
Victoria generates over 300,000 tonnes per year of textile waste. This includes
- discarded clothing (including uniforms)
- upholstery
- synthetic carpets
- manufacturing offcuts.
The overall recovery rate for textiles is just over 30% and is driven by high export volumes. Clothing textiles make up 50% of all textile waste generated. The commercial and industrial sector generates just over 50% of textile waste. 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. A new national stewardship scheme, called ‘Seamless’, led by the Australian Fashion Council, has been launched as a voluntary scheme. It has 8 founding members and continues to increase its membership base.
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
- Opportunities exist for industry to introduce technologies that separate blended textiles into their constituent fabrics and materials.
- Recoverable materials that could be used in new products include polyethylene terephthalate (PET), cotton, nylon, acrylic, and viscose.
- 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 is required to handle clothing from all charities and provide economies of scale for efficient sorting for reuse and recycling.
For more information on textiles recycling infrastructure opportunities, refer to the Victorian Recycling Infrastructure Plan.
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:
Stay up to date
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.
Refer to the latest Victorian Recycling Infrastructure Plan for more information on the textiles waste stream.
