Seamless takes a stewardship approach, which recognises that the 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.

Seamless is funded by a 4 cent per garment levy paid by ‘stewards’ who are the clothing brands who become members of the scheme. This contribution is reduced to 3 cents for every garment that meets the eco-modulation criteria. These funds are invested in four priority areas:  

1. Circular design: incentivising clothing design that is more durable, repairable, sustainable and recyclable
2. Circular business models: fostering new models for reuse, repair, rental, and services that prolong clothing life
3. Closing the materials loop: expanding clothing collection and and sorting practices for effective reuse and recycling
4. Citizen behaviour change: encouraging changed practices around clothing acquisition, use, care, and disposal

The recommendation is to allocate 75% of total funds raised to collecting, sorting and recycling clothing. This includes research and development into new recycling technology to develop a national system at scale, in partnership with the recycling industry.