Australia

With concern mounting over microplastics and the search for sustainable options, the woollen swimsuits of the past could be the swimwear of the future.

A project in the Queensland state of Australia is exploring the potential to turn old cotton clothing into nutrients for new cotton plants.

The first ‘tree-free rayon’ fibre — Nullarbor — has been used to create the first set of garments by Australian biomaterials company, Nanollose Limited. The garments have been produced by Paradise Textiles, which is part of the Alpine Group.

Australia is seeing the return of a preference for physical stores, and shoppers are moving between the offline and online worlds more seamlessly than ever before, according to a survey.

The Australian fashion and textiles industry has just got a boost with eight skills pertaining to the industry being included in the country’s National Skills Priority List (SPL).

In 2012, a charity was set up in Australia which embodied ideas of circular fashion long before it was to become a catchphrase. Thread Together dwelt on the simple idea of donating rather than disposing of unsold clothing. Today, it provides new wardrobes to at least 2,500 people every week, and has diverted over 3,000 tonnes of clothing from landfill. Chief Executive Officer Anthony Chesler tells texfash.com the saga that Thread Together has stitched.

The Australian Fashion trademark project of the Australian Fashion Council (AFC) launched its first campaign at the Melbourne Fashion Week. It is supposed to be like a Tourism Australia campaign, but for the country’s fashion industry, driving demand for Australian fashion both at home, and around the world.

With almost three-quarters of the 17 sustainable SDGs impacted by the textiles industry, Textiles: A transitions report for Australia recommends setting goals that are measurable and time-bound to reduce the country’s overall material footprint.

And now used diapers from households and institutions will be recycled into litter for your pet cat, and justifiably so it has won the RISE Innovation Award. A texfash.com report.

The Kangaroo Industry Association of Australia has urged designers and industry which values high performance leather such as premium soccer boots and heavy-duty sports to embrace kangaroo leather.