Roadmap to clothing circularity

On average, every Australian buys 56 items of clothing yearly, most of which are made from non-sustainable, non-durable materials that eventually end up in landfill.

In late 2022, the Australian Federal Government shared a vision and commitment to transition Australia to a circular economy by 2030 and Net Zero by 2050.

In order to achieve circularity by 2030, the Australian clothing industry needs to fundamentally transform the way clothing is designed, produced, consumed and disposed of, both locally and on a global scale.

Current vs future state

Currently, the lifecycle for clothing in Australia is linear – we take, make and dispose of our clothing, typically in landfill. Clothing circularity will be achieved when the clothing lifecycle becomes circular, and follows a reduce, reuse, recycle model.

Priority areas for clothing circularity

The funds raised as part of the clothing stewardship scheme called Seamless, will be administered by an independent product stewardship organisation that will guide the transformation to clothing circularity by investing in four priority areas:

- Circular design: designing, developing and making clothing differently
- Circular business models: rethinking how we acquire our clothing
- Closing the loop: transforming how clothes are collected, sorted and recycled
- Citizen behaviour change: changing that way we think about and engage with clothing

Achieving clothing circularity by 2030

The Roadmap to Clothing Circularity will guide a just transition of the Australian clothing industry to circularity by 2030. It recommends we:

- Set the foundation
- Build the business case
- Learn, adjust and scale

Following this roadmap will mean that in 2030, how Australians acquire, use and dispose of their clothing will be very different.

The wardrobe of the future will contain fewer clothes, most of which will be made to last from renewable fibre. Many items will be loved for longer, or enjoying a second life, or will have found their way into the wardrobe from new sources like rental or made-to-order. It will be standard practice for less durable items (such as underwear) to be made from recycled materials.

For Australia’s clothing industry to achieve circularity by 2030, collaboration is required across the value chain to drive the transformative change needed to reduce, reuse and recycle clothing.

Together we will need to create a circular clothing economy focused on mitigating climate change and upholding social justice, fostering creativity in thriving business models and encouraging healthy citizen behaviour for a prosperous future on a liveable planet.

Meet the foundation members of Seamless

The Australian Fashion Council and Minister Tanya Plibersek have unveiled the design for a clothing stewardship scheme called Seamless, and the pioneering foundation members who will help guide its transition.

A stewardship approach recognises that the fashion and clothing brands who place clothes on the market are responsible for the entire life of that garment, from design through to recycling or sustainable disposal.

The foundation members of Seamless, are BIG W, David Jones, Lorna Jane, Rip Curl, R.M. Williams and THE ICONIC. Each organisation has committed $100,000 to fund a 12-month transition phase while the Seamless scheme is established.

The NSW Environment Protection Authority is also contributing $100,000 to the transition phase as a supporting partner.

Our industry’s most pioneering and progressive brands

The Seamless foundation members are some of our industry’s most pioneering and progressive brands and retailers. They will be driving the establishment and priorities of Seamless and will play a critical role in leading the Australian clothing industry’s transformation towards a circular economy by 2030.

Together, they are uniting to do what no single business, organisation or government can do alone.

Gayle Burchell, Chief Commercial and Sustainability Officer of THE ICONIC, said: “The launch of the National Clothing Product Stewardship Scheme and Roadmap to Circularity is a major milestone not only for THE ICONIC, but for the entire Australian fashion and retail industry. We’re incredibly proud to be joining forces with the other founding members to work alongside the Australian Government to help tackle this industry challenge, and we hope to make genuine and lasting change that will inspire a global shift. We cannot act alone in our journey towards sustainability. It requires the full force of the combined skills, knowledge and agendas that each of the Founding Members and the Australian Government bring to the table. We’re humbled and excited to be part of this movement, and we can’t wait to see what the future holds.”

David Jones CEO, Scott Fyfe said, “For David Jones, building on our legacy that focuses on sustainable and responsible business practices is a key pillar of Vision 2025+. Circularity is a vital part of the business’ future and joining ‘Seamless’ was a logical and important step forward.”

Shasta O’Loughlin, Head of ESG at KMD Brands (Rip Curl, Kathmandu, Oboz), said, “Because the Search, Surfing and our way of life is important to us, Rip Curl balances profit with our impact on our oceans and beaches, and people who live the lifestyle. As a certified B Corp, we’re already on the path to circularity and have several existing initiatives in this space we’re proud of. We hope that by being a founding member of Seamless, we can collectively come up with solutions with like-minded brands, and that the industry will join us in our efforts to tackle fashion waste.”

Lorna Jane Clarkson, Founder and Chief Creative Officer of Lorna Jane, said, "As a leading Australian activewear brand we take great pride in our involvement in Seamless. It allows us to take responsibility for the lifecycle of our products, from production to end-of-life. By participating in the scheme, we contribute to reducing textile waste, conserving planetary resources, promoting a circular economy, and aligning our brand with the growing demand for environmentally conscious fashion.”

BIG W also announced, “We are privileged to partner with industry and government leaders to establish and drive the priorities of the scheme by committing to long-term action. We care about Aussie families now and in the future, and therefore are committed to the solution of clothing circularity.”

Seamless: a just transformation to clothing circularity

Australia is watching us, waiting to see what we are going to do about the 1.4 billion units of clothing we import into this country each year, half of which ends up in landfill. I think we can all agree that that is just not acceptable.

That’s why, for the last 18 months, the Australian Fashion Council, in consortium with Charitable Recycling Australia, Queensland University of Technology, Sustainable Resource Use and WRAP Asia Pacific have collaborated to design a scheme and roadmap that would transform our $27.2 billion clothing industry, from a linear - take, make and dispose - model to a circular - reduce, reuse and recycle - model.

We worked closely with a reference group of sustainability experts, the Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action, the Product Stewardship Centre of Excellence, and collaborators from the Waste Management and Resource Recovery Association of Australia (WMRR), the Australian Retailers Association (ARA), the Australian Council of Recycling (ACOR) and the National Retail Association (NRA), as well as State and Local Government agencies, manufacturers, recyclers, designers, brands, retailers and so many more.

We conducted research, developed reports, held town hall meetings, hosted discussion forums and participated in hundreds of one on one meetings.

Working together to challenge the status quo

And that’s how we did it. We worked together, we dared to challenge the status quo. We talked about the future - a just transformation to something better, more prosperous, more progressive, more forward thinking. We talked about being a global leader, a circular industry that’s respectful of its people and mindful of its planetary boundaries.

And from this, Seamless was created.

Responsible clothing stewardship

Seamless is a stewardship scheme that recognises that the brands who place clothes on the market are responsible for the entire life of that garment, from design through to recycling or sustainable disposal.

Seamless will be funded by a financial contribution paid by those brands on each item of new clothing they place on the market. The funds raised as part of the scheme will be used to guide the industry on its journey towards clothing circularity by focusing on four priority areas:

- Incentivising clothing design that is more durable, repairable, sustainable and recyclable.
- Fostering new circular business models based on reuse, repair, re-manufacturing and rental.
- Expanding clothing collection and sorting for effective re-use and to ensure non-wearable clothes are recycled.
- Encouraging citizen behaviour change for clothing acquisition, use, care and disposal

Thank you to the pioneering foundation members

To achieve this significant transformation will require courage, it will require creativity but most of all it will require collaboration. In fact, the brands and retailers that have joined Seamless as its foundation members are setting a new standard that exemplifies creativity, courage and collaboration. Those brands are BIG W, David Jones, Lorna Jane, Rip Curl, R.M. Williams and THE ICONIC. The NSW Environment Protection Authority has also contributed to the transition phase as a supporting partner.

To those organisations, I say: Thank you for your daring leadership and foresight. You stand on the right side of history.

Leila Naja Hibri
CEO, Australian Fashion Council

Changing how we design, consume and recycle clothing

Seamless is Australia’s Clothing Product Stewardship Scheme. It aims to make Australian fashion and clothing truly circular, and significantly reduce the 200,000 tonnes of clothing that currently goes to Australian landfill each year.

What is a clothing stewardship scheme? How will the new Seamless scheme work? What is clothing circularity? Those questions and more are answered here.

What is a stewardship scheme?

According to the Product Stewardship Centre of Excellence, “product stewardship acknowledges those involved in designing, manufacturing, and selling products have a responsibility to ensure those products or materials are managed in a way that reduces their environmental and human health impacts, throughout the life-cycle and across the supply chain.”

Do stewardship schemes already exist in Australia?

Australia has a number of product stewardship schemes already in operation. They include: Mobile Muster, an industry-led voluntary product stewardship scheme managed by the Australian Mobile Telecommunication Association (AMTA) which addresses mobile phone waste; Cartridges for Planet Ark, which is a national product stewardship scheme for printer cartridges; the Tyre Product Stewardship Scheme which promotes environmentally sustainable collection and recycling processes to develop viable local markets for tyre-derived products; and many other schemes for plastics and containers through to batteries and oil.

For a detailed directory of existing and emerging product stewardship initiatives in Australia, visit the Product Stewardship Gateway managed by the Product Stewardship Centre of Excellence.

How will the new clothing stewardship scheme work?

The Seamless scheme takes a stewardship approach, which recognises that the fashion and clothing brands who place clothes on the market are responsible for the entire life of that garment, from design through to recycling or sustainable disposal.

The scheme design summary report recommends that Seamless is funded by a 4 cent per garment levy paid by ‘stewards’ who are the clothing brands who become members of the scheme. If 60% of the market by volume sign up to the scheme, a funding pool of $36 million will be raised per year to transform the industry.

These funds will be managed by a Product Stewardship Organisation (PSO) who will allocate them to address four priority areas:

- Circular design: Incentivising clothing design that is more durable, repairable, sustainable, and recyclable.
- Circular business models: New revenue models for reuse, repair, rental, and services that prolong clothing life.
- Closing the loop: Expanding clothing collection and sorting practices for effective reuse and recycling.
- Citizen behaviour change: Encouraging changed practices around clothing acquisition, use, care, and disposal.

Do other countries have clothing product stewardship schemes in place?

As part of the design process for the Australian scheme, the consortium drew insights from the approaches taken by twelve clothing stewardship schemes around the world.

The European Union is leading the charge through pushing for mandatory Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) policies for member states, as well as additional policy levers such as stricter regulation on sustainability communications and waste. There is one mandatory clothing product scheme in operation in France since 2007, and many in development at national or regional levels across Europe.

The United Kingdom has an industry and government co-led voluntary agreement in place, and both the United States of America and New Zealand have industry-led voluntary clothing stewardship schemes.

Many other countries including Hong Kong, Ghana, South Africa, India and the Netherlands provide diverse examples of how mechanisms and logics of clothing product stewardship are being used to harness industry power and agitate for change.

What is clothing circularity?

The majority of the clothing industry in Australia follows a linear model, of take, make and dispose. Clothing circularity will be achieved when the clothing lifecycle becomes circular, and follows a reduce, reuse, recycle model.

A circular clothing industry in Australia is one where responsible stewardship and citizenship are embedded across the lifecycle from clothing design and production, through to consumption and recirculation.

What is the role of foundation members?

The foundation members of Seamless, are BIG W, David Jones, Lorna Jane, Rip Curl, R.M. Williams and THE ICONIC. Each organisation has committed $100,000 to fund a 12-month transition phase while the Seamless scheme is established.

They will be driving the establishment and priorities of Seamless and playing a critical role in leading the Australian clothing industry’s transformation towards a circular economy by 2030.

What is the pathway and timeline for change?

The consortium has recommended a phased approach to the implementation of Seamless. The first phase from June 2023 to June 2024 is a transition phase that focuses on onboarding Seamless foundation members and recruiting future stewards and supporters. This phase will be facilitated by the Product Stewardship Centre of Excellence under the direction of a Transition Advisory Group.

The transition phase will also focus on establishing the Product Stewardship Organisation, which will manage Seamless from July 2024. This is when the garment levy will start to be collected from the clothing brands or stewards.

Minister Plibersek takes a stand against clothing waste

Supported by the Australian Federal Government, Seamless aims to improve the design, recovery, reuse and recycling of clothing, providing a roadmap to circularity in Australia by 2030.

During her powerful speech at the launch of the Seamless scheme design on 7 June 2023, Minister Plibersek championed a future without clothing waste, highlighting the staggering 200,000 tonnes of clothing dumped in Australian landfill each year.

“Australians are buying more clothes than ever. We’re wearing those clothes for less time than we used to, and we’re sending more clothing to landfill than we ever have, which means that clothing is now a significant part of Australia’s waste problem.”

Minister Plibersek issued a clear directive to clothing retailers that the Seamless voluntary scheme would be mandated if not taken up by enough businesses in the future.

“If the voluntary scheme is not viable – if we don’t believe it’s sufficient, or if it’s not raising enough money to cover its costs – then I will regulate.”

The Minister’s message was also accepted at a national meeting of environment ministers which was held on 9 June 2023.

Watch Minister Plibersek’s inspiring speech in full, as recorded by ABC News.

Australian clothing industry launches roadmap to circularity

Launched by the Minister for Environment and Water, Tanya Plibersek, the National Clothing Product Stewardship Scheme design and the Roadmap to Clothing Circularity, aims to significantly reduce the 200,000 tonnes of clothing that currently goes to Australian landfill each year.

Seamless will drive the industry towards clothing circularity by 2030 through:

- Incentivising clothing design that is more durable, repairable, sustainable and recyclable.
- Fostering new circular business models for clothing based on reuse, repair, re-manufacturing and rental.
- Expanding clothing collection and sorting for effective re-use and to ensure non-wearable clothes are recycled.
- Encouraging citizen behaviour change for clothing acquisition, use, care and disposal.

The foundation members of the National Clothing Product Stewardship Scheme, Seamless, are BIG W, David Jones, Lorna Jane, Rip Curl, R.M. Williams and THE ICONIC. Each organisation has committed $100,000 to fund a 12-month transition phase while the Seamless scheme is established.

The NSW Environment Protection Authority is also contributing $100,000 to the transition phase as a supporting partner.

The scheme design report released today recommends that Seamless is funded by a 4 cent per garment levy paid by clothing brands and retailers who become members of the scheme. If 60% of the market by volume sign up to the scheme, a funding pool of $36 million will be raised per year to transform the industry.

If industry signs up to the scheme, the activities driven by Seamless, stakeholders and citizens are projected to divert 60% of end-of-life clothing from landfill by 2027.

Seamless was created by a Consortium led by the Australian Fashion Council with Charitable Recycling Australia, Queensland University of Technology, Sustainable Resource Use and WRAP Asia Pacific.

The scheme design is the result of significant research and analysis, and extensive discussions with stakeholders across the value chain including clothing brands, retailers, charities, recyclers and government agencies.

The Australian Government provided funding for the scheme design.

Leila Naja Hibri, CEO of the Australian Fashion Council, said Seamless is the industry’s response to its clothing waste problem, that will change the way Australians make, consume and recycle their clothes.

“Today, some of our industry’s most pioneering and progressive brands and retailers are uniting to do what no single business, organisation or even government can do alone.”

“Seamless will guide the transition from the current unsustainable linear model of take, make and dispose, to a circular economy of reduce, reuse and recycle.”

“We need to start transitioning to the wardrobe of the future, where clothes are acquired differently, loved for longer and recirculated with care. This systematic and seismic transformation will require courage, creativity and most importantly, collaboration.”

“We need to act now. Our industry, and most importantly our planet, depends on it.”

Leila said.

Meet Nathan Mattock

Nathan Mattock is an AFC Board Member and a Partner at Marque Lawyers.

Nathan has been a partner at Sydney based commercial law firm Marque Lawyers, since 2008, and specialises in intellectual property, content and innovation and commercial litigation.

Prior to joining Marque Lawyers, Nathan was a partner at Gadens Lawyers.

Marianne Perkovic, Chair of AFC Board

Marianne's career spans 30 years across the financial services sector including executive roles at the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA), where she was head of CBA's Private Bank. Prior to that, Marianne was the CEO of Count Financial Limited and at the time of her appointment, was reported as the youngest female CEO of an ASX listed company.

She is an experienced Board Director and Committee Member, including Chair of Audit & Risk, Investment, and Strategy Committees, and a member of Remuneration & Nominations Committees. Marianne also has extensive experience as a Director, Trustee, and Committee Member for non-profit organisations and industry associations.

In 2017, Marianne was recognised by the Financial Services Council with the Industry Contribution Award for her two decades of work in the financial services industry. She has also been recognised as a finalist for the FINSIA Pinnacle Award for the Most Outstanding Woman in Financial Services and for Money Management's Female of the Year.

Marianne is currently the Chair of Eticore and serves as a Non-Executive Director for Insignia Financial Group, RAM Essential Services Property Fund (ASX: REP), Teachers Mutual Bank, she also is the AFC representative on Seamless and member of Workday's APAC International Advisory Board.

She holds a Bachelor of Economics, an MBA, and is pursuing a Master's in Coaching Psychology. She is a Graduate and Member of AICD, Chief Executive Women, and the Financial Planning Association.