Australian Fashion Council

Onshore garment manufacturing in Australia has a new development: a first-of-its-kind Clothing Smart Factory feasibility study is now under way. The study unites RMIT, Swinburne and UTS in a research consortium, backed by Epson and Investment NSW, to assess the technical, workforce and financial requirements for a technology-enabled facility in New South Wales.

Australia’s fashion and textile sector has received its first coordinated national manufacturing roadmap with the launch of the National Manufacturing Strategy for Australian Fashion and Textiles 2026–2036. Led by the Australian Fashion Council and RM Williams, the plan seeks to rebuild domestic capability, strengthen supply-chain resilience and expand high-value, technology-enabled production.

Australia’s much-touted ‘Seamless’ programme—that recognises that the brands who place clothes on the market are responsible for the entire life of that garment, from design through to re-use and recycling—marks the beginning of a sustainable future for the country’s clothing industry beginning 1 July.

Seamless, a first of its kind initiative, aims to transform how clothing is made, used and recirculated in Australia to achieve clothing circularity by 2030, has completed its first phase towards delivery of ambitious industry transformation and optimal outcomes for all key stakeholders.

In a bid to help transition the country to a circular economy by 2030 and Net Zero by 2050, Australia is funding a consortium to develop Seamless, a National Clothing Product Stewardship Scheme that would act across the value chain, from clothing design to use, reuse, collection, and recycling.

Changing consumer behaviour, as well as new technology is reshaping the Australian fashion sector. A spending slowdown will test the industry’s resilience, says a just released report that charts the progress made across sustainability, diversity and inclusion, and accessibility.

Exploring ways to transition from physical to digital sampling, a pilot by Australian Fashion Council found that brands reported a faster time to market and the ability to test multiple sizes of a garment without producing a single physical sample.