In 2024, the Australian clothing industry manufactured and imported over 1.5 billion units of new clothing. That's equivalent to 55 items of clothing for every Australian, and most is made from non-renewable and environmentally problematic materials.

More than half of this clothing ends up in landfill in Australia, which amounts to 220,000 tonnes per year. The carbon footprint of clothing in Australia in 2024 is estimated to be 14.3 million tonnes per year. It’s also costing charities millions of dollars to sort through donations and dispose of unsaleable and unwearable items.

Systematic and transformational change is needed and this can only be achieved through industry collaboration across the entire clothing lifecycle.