One of Australia’s largest retailers, Kmart Group, has been urged by the federal government to back risk regulation, or an industry-led textile recycling program.
Through a fee-based approach, the Australian Fashion Council (AFC) is leading the Seamless initiative, which attempts to decrease the amount of clothing waste by increasing the amount of clothing that is recycled, resold, repaired, and reworn.
The Kmart Group, which is owned by Wesfarmers and consists of Kmart and Target stores, has not signed up for it despite its June launch.
Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek told Guardian Australia, “I encourage the Kmart Group to join with brands like Big W, David Jones, and The Iconic to take responsibility for the huge amounts of textile waste they send to landfill.”
In response to the 200,000 tonnes of textile waste that Australians discard in landfills each year, the circularity movement was developed. A US $1 million contribution from the Federal Government to the AFC in 2021 made it possible.
It follows the EU’s example and charges participating brands a 4 cent fee for each item of apparel sold. The fee will fund sustainable research across the sector and establish the foundation for recycling textiles.
A Kmart Group official stated that the store will back a regulated initiative that ensures earnings go toward recycling garments rather than hiring people. About 20% of all garment imports into Australia come from Kmart and Target, according to AFC modeling. Although parent company Wesfarmers, which also owns the massive hardware store Bunnings, reported US$ 43.6 billion in revenue in August, they claimed US$ 10.6 billion in revenue annually.
