The average Victorian creates 28kg of textile waste each year. That's more than 100 t-shirts per person!
A lot of these textiles could have been reused or recycled, but only 7% of textiles are.
Our Re-Use and Recycle Drop Off Day accepts good quality textiles for re-use by charities and damaged textiles for recycling. At our February Re-use and Recycle Drop Off Day we collected over 500kgs of textiles – that’s about 1700 t-shirts - preventing these from ending up in landfill.
Here are some tips to reduce textile waste at home:
- Care for your clothes: Wash in cold water, air dry, and follow care labels.
- Repair tears and damage: Even small repairs can extend the life of a garment.
- Choose sustainable materials: Opt for natural and organic fabrics like cotton, wool and linen.
- Upcycle old clothes: Turn them into rags, cleaning cloths or other useful items.
- Consider buying secondhand clothing: This helps reduce the demand for new production and gives old textiles a new life.
- Donate clothes: Give good quality unwanted clothes to charities or organisations that can use them.