As textiles comprise one of New Zealand’s fastest-growing waste streams, the fashion and textile industries have collaborated in a plan to address the challenge.

The Textile Product Stewardship Project to reduce fabric trash is part of the broader Textile Reuse Programme, which was founded in 2016 to allow industry players to share vision and commitment for a circular economy for clothing and textiles in New Zealand.

This is a multi-year project which has been co-designed by New Zealand’s fashion and textile industry. It is funded by The Ministry for the Environment’s Te Pūtea Whakamauru Para – Waste Minimisation Fund’s (WMF) 2019 funding round and the Textile Reuse Programme foundation partners, Alsco NZ, Barkers Clothing, Deane Apparel, Usedfully and Wellington City Council.

More than 200 industry stakeholders participated in workshops, working groups and interviews to co-design a Voluntary Textile Product Stewardship Scheme and make recommendations to the New Zealand government during the first stage in 2020-2021.

During the second stage, launched this week, there will be demonstrations and tests of waste-to-value pathways. The industry will recommend to the government an appropriate vehicle to administer an accredited Voluntary Product Stewardship Scheme for Textiles in Aotearoa.

“We have a responsibility to take local action to support a more sustainable, decarbonised industry,” said Peter Thompson, CEO of Usedfully, and project lead.

“For every 10,000 tonnes of recovered textile resources, we can generate about 300 new jobs in the low carbon, circular economy, creating economic opportunity onshore in Aotearoa,” he said.