Circular threads

mattress waste for local governments and charities. While we know there’s an opportunity to recycle the majority of the components, there’s currently no way to recycle the fabric covers taken from all products.

The same applies to kids’ car seats. In late 2019, Seatcare received recognition from the federal government, whereby Minister Ley proposed childcare safety seats become a top priority recoverable waste item removed from landfill. More than 1,400,000 new child car seats are sold annually in Australia, and an estimated 200,000 are disposed of each year, the majority going to landfill. A lesser component of the product (which mostly can be recycled) is textile.

Asaleocare, another NPSI grant recipient, will be coordinating recycling trials and scheme design for its feminine sanitary items and incontinence pads, each of which contains a form of textile.

The breadth of textiles in use across the country far outweighs the volume in fast fashion (consumed and used) every year. Through investigative research and analysis, ACTA suggests current import data of textiles is significantly larger than what is tracked in disposal every year — as much as 50% more than commonly thought. The problem is bigger than what it seems.

As textiles garner more attention, the goal is to further expand the local knowledge and expertise to take industry growth to the next level. Echoed support came from the Vinyl Council of Australia in signifying the importance of schematic and systemic change: “It is great to see the federal government actively supporting the Australasian Circular Textiles Association given the strides that they have already taken to date and to foster stewardship of textiles in Australia.”

ACTA is the only textile-centric organisation seeking to partner long term with progressive organisations and the federal government. It is aiming to establish a circular economy, develop engaging global leadership programs, harness emerging technology, nurture future generations and grow audience markets between national cross-sectors.