Textiles - what can you do to reduce textiles waste?

• Review your wardrobe: We all have full wardrobes. New combinations we might not have thought of can feel like brand new outfits! Consider digitising your wardrobe to help create new combinations with apps like Indyx, Acloset, or Whering. These apps can also help identify gaps and focus on purchasing versatile pieces that complement your existing items.
• Mindful shopping: Before shopping, ask yourself ‘do I really need this’? Often the answer is probably not.  
• Create a shopping list: Make a list of specific items you need and stick to it. Understand what colours work best for you, and consider carrying colour swatches when shopping.
• Consider the material type: Check the care label and materials when purchasing. Do you want to commit to dry clean only/hand wash items? 

• Buy less and choose quality over quantity: Invest in durable, versatile pieces. Consider block colours or neutrals for wardrobe staples likes pants and jackets and add colour through accessories. Look for sustainable brands and materials. Avoid trendy pieces that you’ll wear only once or twice, opting instead for classic timeless styles.
• Launder with care to extend item life: Wash clothes in cold water, air dry, avoid direct sun, and follow care labels to extend their lifespan.
• Try before you buy: Inro (Melbourne based) offers a subscription service (one off or monthly) where you rent items for a month, with the option to purchase any pieces to keep.
• Avoid fast fashion: Ultra-fast fashion brands produce huge amounts of low quality clothing, harming workers and the environment, and promoting a culture of disposable clothing. 

• Upcycling: Transform old clothes into new items or make rags from damaged items. Find your local Boomerang Bags community to donate or make bags.
• Alter or repair instead of throwing away: Alter items that don’t fit quite right , repair torn or damaged clothing, or consider dying items to change the colour. Alterations and repairs are often very cheap and easy to do. There are many clothing alteration businesses and options, with examples including:
  • Repairs: Surf Coast Repair Café (Aireys Inlet) runs monthly offering free basic repairs for a wide range of items such as clothing and textiles, and more.
  • Denim repairs: Scout for Vintage ‘Denim Tailor Shop’ offers patch repairs through to full refits (e.g. hemming, leg tapering, waist refitting), as well as upcycled denim pieces.
  • Kuwaii offer a repairs service as well as their Re-Worn trade in program where you can receive a voucher for near new and well loved items.
  • Nudie Jeans offer free repairs via repair shops, repair partners or via mobile service globally!
  • Tailoring and alterations: Find out your closest repairs or alterations service. Some examples include: Alterations Now Waurn Ponds, Crest Quality Dry Cleaners, Angie’s Clothing Alterations and Repairs Fyansford, Amir’s Alterations, Geelong affordable clothes alteration.
  •  Shoe repairs: Some example include: Santoro Shoe Repairs, Town & Country Cobbler Shop Waurn Ponds, Mister Minit Westfield Geelong, Shoe Express Geelong.

• Join an online clothing renting subscription service – with a monthly wardrobe rental and return refresh such as through Threadicated or Glam Corner.
• Consider renting clothes eg. formal wear or special occasion wear: this is especially useful for items you only wear once or twice helping you save money, keep a refreshed wardrobe and save space.

  Women’s option examples:

  • The Luxe Closet – try on dresses in their Geelong West showroom.
  • Coastal Outfit Hire (COHA) – try on dresses in their Armstrong Creek showroom.
  • Designer on Loan - try on dresses in their Geelong West showroom.
  • Her Style Dress Hire - Geelong based (online).
  • The Volte (online).
  • And what about renting out your own clothes to others through Closet Drop (online).

  Men’s options examples:

  • Suitor - Australia wide (online).
  • Squire Shoppe - offers men’s fashion, suit and kilt hire in Geelong.

• Wetsuit or triathlon suit renting: Many surf shops offer wetsuit rentals, such as Anglesea Surf Centre, Go Ride a Wave, Torquay Surf Academy. You can also rent triathlon suits with Volare (6 month rental period).

• Use local or online marketplaces: you can find incredible new and pre-loved items on marketplaces for a fraction of the new cost! Browse conveniently online such as on at Facebook Marketplace or eBay, and you can even join specific resale groups (e.g. Gorman, Lululemon, Patagonia, Zimmerman, Melbourne High-End etc.)
• Visit your local charity shops: you can also find incredible new and pre-loved bargains at charity shops. And you can donate gently used clothing, shoes, accessories to charities to help others. Before donating, a general rule of thumb is to ask yourself would you pay for the item or give it to a friend? If not, consider the recycling options below. Some local charity shops include:
  • Salvation Army Thrift Shop Torquay
  • Brotherhood of St Laurence Torquay
  • St Luke’s Op Shop Torquay
  • Bellbrae Uniting Church Op Shop
  • Seaside seconds Op Shop Anglesea
  • The Lorne Op Shop
• Use your local charity drop off textiles bank to make a donation – donate quality reusable items via these drop off banks too. These are often located in carparks or on street locations.

• Give items away via free online platforms – with people collecting items from your front door to save you the work eg. Facebook Marketplace, Facebook Good Karma Networks etc. 

• Shoes with some life left: The Running Company (Torquay and Geelong) collect sports shoes and donate them to communities in Alice Springs.

•  School uniforms: Sell, buy or donate second-hand school uniforms through The Uniform Exchange.
• Women’s business wear: Donate high quality work-appropriate clothing for women through Fitted for Work (Richmond) which supports migrant and refugee women moving into work.
• Clothing and textiles, handbags and accessories, shoes: SCR Group offer drop points (hubs) in Melbourne, Homecycle, retail take back and drive through collection services. 
• Patagonia: trade in your pre-loved Patagonia items and receive a credit through their Worn Wear program (in store Torquay and Geelong + mail-in option).
• THE ICONIC: RE:THINK Program allows customers to purchase a RCYCL bag (no longer wearable clothes) or a REWEAR bag (unwanted but wearable clothes) or both. Bags can then be filled with pre-sorted clean clothes and dropped off at the nearest location.

• Doonas: some charity shops may accept doonas - always call in advance to check before dropping them off. 
• Old towels, sheets and blankets: these are often needed by animal shelters and vets. Contact your local shelter or vet to see if they will accept them. 

Shoes

• Worn-out shoes: Recycle sports shoes, gumboots, leather school shoes and hiking boots through the “Treat Lightly” program (drop off at Rebel Sport, Athlete’s Foot, Sports Power Colac and Platypus Shoes Torquay).
• Old work boots: Recycle with Totally Workwear (Geelong)
• On: offer a running shoe monthly subscription service - use your shoes, request a new pair when they wear out, and they’ll recycle your old pair.

Clothes

• Zara has a free textile collection program in select stores for all kinds of clothing and textiles in any condition (including shoes, linen, and accessories) (Melbourne).
• UNIQLO has a free in-store recycling program for its own branded clothing in any condition (Melbourne).
• H&M has a free recycling program (Melbourne).
• School uniforms: For schools with large quantities, contact Worn Up which recycle textile waste into new products such as school desks. Total Uniform Solutions also manufacture uniforms that are designed for disassembly to aid with recycling at end of life.
• Uniforms: Textile Recycling Australia offers uniform recycling for businesses.
• Corporate workwear: Loop Upcycling offers upcycling and recycling services solutions for corporate workwear.
• Clothing that’s no longer wearable: Purchase a box with Upparel to recycle items such as clothing, hats, wireless bras, socks, shoes, bedding and blankets, swimwear and wetsuits (mail-in only).

• Underwear: Recycle your old underwear through Project Down Under (mail in only). Or via Underwear for Humanity (underwear and bras) - they will recycle other brands if you purchase their underwear first.
• And remember when shopping to choose items made with recycled materials to ‘close the loop’ such as t-shirts made with recycled cotton or fleeces made from recycled plastic bottles. 

Wetsuits

• Recycle any brand of surf wetsuit at Ripcurl Torquay (in store and mail-in option).

Linen and bedding

• Some mechanics may accept old towels, clothing, sheets and other textiles so they can use them as rags. Contact your local mechanic to see if they will accept them.
• Sheridan stores and outlets accept any brand of pre-loved quilt covers, sheets and towels for recycling (please wash items prior). Check with your store as the program is so popular they get full quickly!
• GoKindly offers a recycling program for GoKindly-branded pillows and doonas 

Mattresses and bed bases

• If buying a new mattress look at which retailers will collect and recycle the old one (check via Australian Bedding Stewardship Council)
• Mattresses / bed bases can be taken to Surf Coast Shire Council Anglesea, Lorne and Winchelsea transfer stations for a small fee, where they are collected and deconstructed for recycling.
• You can also book a fixed price mattress removal with The Mattress Recycling Company who will collect and either clean, restore and redistribute or mechanically deconstruct and recycle.