Policies and initiatives to help save the Australian fashion industry for future generations

We recently had Joanna visit our office. Joanna received the Young Creator of the Year Award for demonstrating strong creativity and leadership through her self-initiated school club, Passion for Fashion Fridays. She mentors younger students in upcycling textiles into functional and stylish art pieces. Her commitment to sustainability and community engagement underpins her long-term goal of opening a business that teaches others to repurpose clothing into meaningful, eco-friendly creations.

Joanna brought an terrific upcycled art piece she made with fishes made from a mix of discarded textiles. It’s inspiring to see Joanna’s hard work, talent and her dreams for the future. She could potentially make a real impact in textiles circularity. She is currently deciding which tertiary institution to further develop her skills in hope of a successful career in her future.

I had to caution her about the lack of sufficient jobs in Australian textiles industry. Every week I mentor a couple of people who is either a young person or adult wanting to have a career in the sustainable fashion space. Fashion is one of the top career choices for teenagers and young people in general. Sadly, the lack of sufficient and varied career opportunities is a real bug bear.

Many Australian clothing brands have had to close their doors in the last few years. I’m still in the process of ascertaining a more precise number but it’s a lot. Ultra-fast fashion and conventional fast fashion have played a big role in some of this but they’re not the only reason. We need This is one of the reasons I’ve been strongly advocating for reform in the industry. It’s the protection of Australian textiles businesses and also incubating the talent and dreams of young people.

The industry is currently worth $28 billion to the national economy and can potentially escalate to $38 billion dollars within a decade with the right reform and support from the federal government. This progress would mean not only more jobs but a broader array in the nature of jobs in the industry to accommodate young people like Joanna and others.

With over 300,000 tonnes of textiles discarded each year, we can invest in scaling reuse, repairs, mending, upcycling, repurposing, renting and recycling. As one of the wealthiest countries in the world, an investment into research and development towards recycling textiles could see all existing and innovations and scaling of all textile recycling capabilities in Australia. This would be a boost to the economy, even more jobs and keeping all the materials in the circularity loop which is important for the environment. Ultimately this will be a triple win for us.

Here are some of the existing government programs that can boost the textiles industry:

• The $900 million investment of the Albanese Labor Government into the new National Productivity Fund is part of an initial step towards “delivering broader ‘right to repair’ reforms – driving down repair costs, increasing business opportunities and reducing wastage by removing barriers to competition for repairs….”

• With Australia being one of the biggest consumers of clothing in the world per capita and one of the most wasteful, it’s fortunate that we also have the Recycling Modernisation Fund (RMF). This is a $200 million national initiative for the expansion of Australia’s capacity to sort, process and remanufacture glass, plastic, tyres, paper and cardboard. Textiles can be added to the RMF. The Albanese government is looking towards new and upgraded recycling infrastructure through the RMF.

• Other government programs that can support a textiles industry include the Future Made in Australia, which has $22.7 billion private sector investment over a 10-year period to help Australia build a stronger and more resilient economy.

• There’s also an Advanced Manufacturing program which is a $1.6 billion accelerator fund for to enable development of more complex domestic manufacturing industries using cutting-edge technologies and innovative processes to improve existing manufacturing operations and create new products. This could potentially suit 3-D printing initiatives, blockchain, textile software operations, chemical textile recycling and other areas.

• A new program designed to cater to the development of an Australian textiles industry with necessary investments and nuanced support can also be created by the government. However, we need to advocate for it, loudly and persistently. Think of all the young people like Joanna whose dreams depend on it.

Article by Nina Gbor

The Halloween waste economy; creating a more circular and sustainable Halloween

Image credit: Nikola Johnny Mirkovic

Halloween is gradually becoming synonymous with waste with its rituals of single-use costumes, party kits and other paraphernalia. Overconsumption and excessive waste levels can be high at any given time of the year; however, holidays like Halloween spike the charts of environmental degradation. Australia, the US, and the UK are big-time celebrating Halloween with the usual accoutrements of costumes, food, decorations, and candy/sweets.

In a Halloween waste article last year, we wrote more in depth about the economic and environmental categories of the holiday celebrations. Here's an update on Halloween spending in these countries for 2024:

Australia is set to spend A$450 million (approximately USD 296 million or £228 million). 21% of Australians are celebrating Halloween, and each celebrant will spend an average of A$93 ($61 USD or £47), according to the Australian Retail Association and Roy Morgan.

The US is set to spend USD 11.6 billion (approximately A$17.6 billion or £8.9 billion). 72% of Americans are celebrating with an average $104 USD spent per person (A$158 or £80), based on data from the National Retail Federation.

The UK is set to spend £776 million (approximately A$1.5 billion or $1 billion USD). 58% of Brits are celebrating to an average of £25 per person (A$50 or $39 USD) according to Finder.

Australia

The Halloween categories Australians will have spent on this year, according to Roy Morgan and the Australian Retail Association, include:

•         Trick or treating - 45%

•         Treats for trick-or-treaters – 38%

•         Halloween costumes – 37%

•         Home decorations - 32%

•         Attending or hosting – 18%

The USA

The 2024 Halloween spending in the US from the National Retail Federation are:

• Costumes - $3.8B (USD)

• Decorations - $3.8B

• Candy - $3.5B

• Greeting cards - $0.5B.

The UK

The UK's 2024 Halloween spending according to Mirror UK:

•         Plastic-wrapped sweets – 85%

•         Decorations – 74%

•         Costumes – 70%.

Halloween’s toll on the environment

While these figures may be gold for some aspects of the economy on the surface and also the retail sector, they are a tragedy for the environment. These high surges in holiday product sales result in enormous plastic, paper, food and other material waste. For instance, 46 million products, such as decorations and costumes, are thrown out each year in the UK. But there is hope. By choosing sustainable alternatives, we can significantly reduce this waste.

Costumes and physical health

83% of Halloween costumes are made with non-recyclable, oil-based plastics, so they will likely end up in landfill. They are often made with the cheapest and poor-quality polyester, nylon and acrylic materials. They are designed through a planned obsolescence strategy with a single-use intention. These store-bought costumes usually release microplastics into the air and shed microplastics if washed. Another disconcerting fact is that more than 63% of plastic Halloween costumes can take hundreds of years to decompose. And only 1% of these costumes and the materials they comprise are recycled. With the US spending $3.8 billion USD on costumes and 37% of Australia's Halloween spending going to costumes, plus 70% of the UK's Halloween purchasing also going to costumes, the costume waste from these countries alone will be outrageous.

According to a 2024 textiles waste report by The Australia Institute, Australia is the biggest consumer of clothing in the world per capita. Australia also happens to be one of the world's biggest consumers of single-use plastics per capita, according to a plastic waste makers index by the Minderoo Foundation. However, these statistics also present an opportunity for change. By rethinking our approach to Halloween, we can significantly impact Australia's environmental footprint.

Toxic chemicals from the materials used in Halloween costumes are a terrifying fact about the holiday.  Harmful chemicals such as PFAS, phthalates, BPA, lead and cadmium are found on products made by many costume and fast fashion suppliers. The accumulation of these chemicals in the body can lead to heart, liver and kidney problems, infertility, congenital disabilities, migraines, skin irritations, endocrine disruption and other ailments. Scientists found twenty times the amount of lead that's considered safe in a toddler jacket made by the ultra-fast fashion brand Shein. Lead is known to affect the brain and nervous system as well as create intellectual inabilities, behavioural disorders and other developmental problems in children. Children's clothing with Disney characters had to be recalled 2022 by a company called the Bentex Group for containing high amounts of lead.

Food

According to Hubbub, in 2023, 15.8 million pumpkins were set to go to waste during Halloween in the UK, which is the equivalent of 95 million meals ending up in the bin.  

In Australia, 7.6 million tonnes of food are wasted in a year. Holiday rituals are typically highly wasteful, and Halloween waste could potentially contribute to food waste as an increasing number of Australians are celebrating the holiday (currently, 21%).

It’s been reported that almost 2 billion pounds of pumpkins are produced in the US each year, with more than 1.3 billion pounds of pumpkins thrown away based on information from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The US will also spend USD $3.5 billion on candy and sweets this year. Some of it might go to waste but it will lead to increased plastics pollution because many candy wrappers are made of plastic.

Plastic

In addition to costumes, tremendous plastic waste accompanies Halloween celebrations, such as popular trick-or-treat buckets with the jack-o-lantern image used by many children and the barrage of ‘landfill fillers’ single-use, disposable party cutlery, plates, and cups.

Creating a more circular and sustainable Halloween

However, there are ways to enjoy the holiday without polluting the planet or making it another annual waste disaster.

1. Adopt a circularity mindset

First and foremost, with all holiday celebrations, adopt a mindset that EVERYTHING you purchase or use for holiday celebrations must be something you can and will use again. And at worst, be recyclable.

2. Halloween costume swap

Instead of buying brand new costumes yearly, people can host costume clothes swaps in their schools, homes, neighbourhoods and social groups. This reduces the flow of costumes to landfill and high levels of toxic chemicals from brand-new costumes. Swapping can also include costumes from activities such as book week.

3. Decorate a reusable bag or create a reusable Halloween bag

The world uses around 5 trillion plastic bags a year. Australia alone uses 6.9 billion plastic bags a year, of which 3.6 billion are plastic shopping bags, while Americans use an average of 365 plastic bags per person per year.

Halloween is an opportunity to get into the habit of reusable bags by painting a reusable bag in your favourite holiday look and colours. Alternatively, you can repurpose a pillowcase or tie together an old t-shirt.

4. DIY Costumes

Search online for easy, fun Halloween costumes you can make with friends, alone or with children. Costume-making can be an exciting social activity that people enjoy. Use platforms like TikTok, YouTube, Instagram and Facebook for ideas and inspiration. There can be a level of pride and confidence in children making their own costumes.

5. Shop secondhand

Diverting reusable stuff from landfill is a purposeful act. Before you hit the conventional online and in-person retail spots for holiday stuff, check out the secondhand stores first. You might even have local online neighbourhood groups such as Buy, Sell, and Swap groups on Facebook or other preloved platforms such as Craigslist, Gumtree, Marketplace, etc.

6. Compost, preserve or store food

Whether it’s leftover party food, candy, sweets or pumpkin flesh from your carved jack-o-lantern, you can freeze, refrigerate, compost, or even donate leftover food to charity to prevent it from becoming waste.

7. Hire, borrow or rent disposable party gear and utensils

Search for party kit hire places in your local area or online to prevent buying new, disposable stuff. Considering the items will only be used for a single holiday celebration, it’s possibly not worth buying brand new.  

Article by Nina Gbor