“The Textile Product Stewardship Project has been tasked with delivering to the Ministry for the Environment — Manatū Mō Te Taiao the ‘Recommendation of an appropriate vehicle for Textile Product Stewardship to set up and administer an accredited voluntary Product Stewardship Scheme for textiles in New Zealand’. This report provides an insight into industry opinion and recommendations of the path forward. It is also an invitation to government and all industry players to work closely together co-creating a thriving and resilient low carbon industry.”

(image credit to: Anne Nygård)

“Textiles are both a priority and an opportunity when it comes to reaching our climate commitments. To effectively divert unwanted textiles from landfill requires large scale science based product pathways that are financially viable. This report provides an overview of the current textile reprocessing landscape and explores what opportunities there are to create commercial scale waste-to-value solutions in Aotearoa NZ.”

“As consumer awareness grows of the environmental and social impacts of clothing and household linens, so too do the expectations of brands and retailers to provide more ethical and sustainable products. Over the last few years work of a core group of industry stakeholders through the Textile Reuse Programme has resulted in a clearer understanding of the elements required in order to support a less impactful and more resilient local textile industry. The scale of textile waste is considerable, its impacts vast, requiring industrial-scale solutions including coordinated collection, aggregation and sorting through to viable and pragmatic alternatives to landfill.”

“The lack of available data on the composition, volumes and condition of post-consumer textile waste has been a barrier to assessing potential reuse and recycling opportunities, and to understanding the investment required to manage these resources at end-of-use. This audit and analysis of ~100kg Post-Consumer Clothing, Homewares & Linen provides insights into steps which can be taken towards improved management of these resources in New Zealand.”

“The clothing and textile industry is one of the largest and most impactful industries in the world. The fashion sector alone is worth approximately USD $2.5 trillion. In Aotearoa the value chain extends from agriculture (production of textile fibres), manufacture…..”