Some of Australia’s largest retailers – BIG W, David Jones, The Iconic, R.M. Williams, Lorna Jane and Rip Curl have signed a groundbreaking deal to tackle the huge problem of textile waste in this country.
30 of Australia’s top clothing producers were approached by the Australian Fashion Council to join the National Product Stewardship scheme and roadmap to clothing circularity, called Seamless.
Seamless acknowledges that the fashion and clothing brands who place clothes on the market are responsible for the entire lifecycle of the garment, from design to recycling or sustainable disposal. The key goals of Seamless is to drive the fashion industry towards clothing circularity by 2030. The initiative is dependent on industry take-up to be successful. If the majority of retailers adhere to the scheme, the activities driven by Seamless could help divert 60% of end of life clothing from landfill by 2027.
Around 200,000 tonnes of clothing ends up in landfill each year in Australia. The Seamless scheme asks each retailer who signs up to pay a levy of 4 cents per garment produced and fund $100,000 to the scheme for the first year it is established. Additionally, the NSW Environment Protection Authority is contributing $100,000 to the transition phase.
Tanya Plibersek put out a clear message to Australian clothing retailers that while the Seamless scheme was voluntary during the 12 month transition phase, it could be mandated if there was not sufficient business take-up: “Clothing has been sitting on the priority list for regulation for the last couple of years. That means that the government has said to this industry that we’re giving you a chance to get your house in order…If companies choose to pull out, or free ride on the work of others, then I have no problem stepping in and regulating directly.”
More information on the roadmap for the Seamless scheme can be found here.
We’d love to speak to clients and candidates with experience on fashion circularity.
Permanser Consulting - Recruitment Specialists in the Fashion / Textile / Lifestyle / Accessories Industries.
Tanya, Amy & Natalie at Permanser Consulting
E admin@permanser.com.au
P (03) 9654 5988