Australian fashion industry to focus on better sustainable practices

According to Planet Ark, Australia is the second highest consumer of textiles in the world, just trailing the US, with each of us purchasing an average of 27 kilos of new clothing per year while disposing an average of 23 kilos of this to landfill. Things aren’t looking so glamorous now, are they?

That’s a staggering number of valuable materials being dumped into the earth just to put clothes on our backs. So something’s got to change quick. it’s good, then, to see brands like Epsom getting involved in cutting back on wasting textiles.

Epsom, along with the Australian Fashion Council’s ‘FashTech Lab’ has piloted 15 Australian brands to prove savings can be achieved on cost, time, water, textile waste and carbon emissions in the transitioning from physical sampling of garments to digital sampling.

One successful example of this partnership is Mud to Marle, the 2023 Country Road Climate Fund winner led by Full Circle Fibres and textile manufacturer Loomtex, who together are transforming low-value Australian wool and Australian cotton into a natural high-value yarn, extrapolating on thinning fabric resources to create better, higher quality materials.

“Mud to Marle demonstrates full manufacturing capability from growing to sewing, showing that it actually is possible to innovate, create and scale low-impact and circular textile solutions in Australia,” said Full Circle Fibres Founder, Meriel Chamberlin.

Another great example of eco practice in the industry is BlockTexx, an Australian clean technology company that recovers polyester and cellulose from textiles and clothing, creating a global solution for hard-to-recycle clothing blends.

Each activation uses proprietary technology and innovation and places a spotlight on the potential for Australia to be globally competitive.

All of this innovation was showcased recently at an event at Kirribilli House in Sydney with guests including fashion legend Carla Zampatti, designer darlings Bianca Spender (pictured, top of story), Mary-Lou Ryan (co-founder of the label, bassike), and Genevieve Smart (one half of Ginger & Smart, above), and even Jodie Haydon, the partner of PM Anthony Albanese, hinting that fashion has become big business in Australia, with greater focus on sustainable practices.

The Australian Fashion Council looks forward to further industry collaboration to accelerate its commitment to innovation and sustainability with tech partners like Epson.

Lisa Andrews