Page 2457 - Week 07 - Wednesday, 31 July 2019
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video
landfill. That is 501,000 tonnes of clothing and textiles. Similarly, the 2018 national waste report identified that two-thirds of all textiles in Australia end up in landfill. There is no denying that this is a disastrous amount of waste going to landfill that has a huge potential to be reduced and re-used, instead of making it into our bins and our land.
The harmful impact of textile waste is not just a concern to our environment; it also impacts our society. Australia’s charities are being placed under significant financial and operational pressure as a result of people donating poor quality and unwearable clothing and textiles. By dumping or donating unusable clothing, Australians are placing the burden on charities to dispose of the items. The National Association of Charitable Recycling Organisations has estimated that it costs charities up to $13 million a year just to dispose of these items. The serious harm caused by our consumption and disposal habits has now reached further than our environment, to organisations in our community that are seeking to support those in need. From this perspective we cannot ignore the need for textiles to be considered in an investigation into ways we can grow the recycling and waste reduction industry in Canberra.
Despite these concerning facts, there are Canberrans who are leading the way in producing more sustainable textiles and clothing, and reducing the impact of textile waste on our economy. Kelli Donovan is the CEO, creative director and founder of Pure Pod, a sustainable fashion label that provides people with high quality, sustainably sourced and produced clothing. Pure Pod is a great example of a small business that is providing consumers with an alternative to fast fashion. The business is passionate about supporting the Australian fashion industry and looking after the people who make, print and cut the clothing. It comes as no surprise that Kelli is an ethical clothing activist. She has a lot of industry knowledge and would be able to provide the government and our community with great insight into how we can create a more sustainable and waste-minimal textiles industry.
Nina Gbor is another great leader in this space, and I have previously spoken about her work in the Assembly. Nina is the founder and CEO of Eco Styles, a fashion line that uses recycled textiles to reduce textile waste going to landfill. She is known as a style icon and does a lot of great work with people like Kelli to encourage Canberrans to think twice before throwing out unused clothes or purchasing garments from fast fashion chains.
Where people and businesses are doing the commendable thing, they should be supported and encouraged. With people like Kelli and Nina contributing to the sustainable future of textiles, I am confident that Canberra could become a hub for textile waste reduction and recycling.
It is my intention for this motion to start a serious conversation about what we can do as a government and a community to tackle our issues with waste and consumption.
I have highlighted the significant opportunity presented by the textiles industry. However, there are a few other areas that should also be considered.
Building materials and the waste that is associated with construction should be further examined for opportunities to reduce and re-use discarded products. For example,
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video