We're urging the Australian Federal Government to implement comprehensive reforms aimed at revitalising the nation's struggling textiles industry while also advancing the development of a more circular textiles sector.

Australia is one of the biggest consumers of clothing and most wasteful in the world per capita. The right legislation can curb environmental impacts, create jobs, inject $38B or more into the national economy and potentially position Australia as the global leader in circular and sustainable textiles.  

Australia is in a unique position to lead the world in creating a more robust circular textiles industry, but our textiles sector needs support.

Sign our petition today and share it with your friends and colleagues—every signature brings us one step closer to a sustainable future for Australia’s textiles industry! 

Environmental, health, social and economic impacts

Fashion is one of the most polluting industries in the world. Every second, a garbage truck of clothing sent to landfill or incinerated. The industry emits 1.2 billion tonnes of greenhouse gases and uses about 342 million barrels of oil (fossil fuels) a year to make synthetic clothing each year. 65% of our clothing is made from plastic synthetic materials such as polyester. Research has shown that plastic has toxic chemicals that can be dangerous to human health like PFAS, Bisphenol-A and phthalates, which are carcinogenic and linked to immune, hormonal, and fertility issues. 

The prevalence of overconsumption has resulted in the annual disposal of more than 300,000 tonnes of clothing. Australians collectively spend approximately $9.2 billion on apparel each year. Ultra-fast fashion is a significant contributor to this issue, directly impacting the environment and human rights through overproduction, planned obsolescence, and the encouragement of excessive consumption. These practices generate substantial waste, increase carbon emissions, contribute to landfill and water pollution, and perpetuate the exploitation of workers within the supply chain.

In 2024, 1.5 billion items of clothing were imported into Australia, a 7% increase from 2023. That same year, Australians spent $2.3 billion on ultra-fast fashion brands Shein and Temu. Amazon, another major seller in the ultra-fast fashion market, had 8.8 million Australian (general) users in the 12 months leading up to September 2025. Ultra-fast fashion is characterised by extreme artificially low prices.

Australia’s textiles industry faces an uncertain future, with under 3% of textiles produced locally and many brands closing due to ultra-fast fashion competition, intellectual property violations, unprecedented economic conditions and limited protection and government support. Effective policies could see the industry reach $38B in value by 2032 and add 500,000 mostly female jobs.

Impacts on supply chain, labour and garment workers 

According to the Global Slavery Index, the fashion and textiles industry faces one of the highest risks of modern slavery, with garments and textiles among Australia’s most vulnerable imports, often tied to forced labour and exploitation. Ultra-fast fashion relies on underpaid, overworked, and unsafe conditions for many workers—primarily women—who remain largely unprotected by current laws. Less than 10% of workers globally receive a living wage. Rapid production and complex supply chains worsen these risks. Focusing solely on environmental sustainability without addressing worker exploitation cannot create an ethical textiles industry.

The industry's decline happened over decades and will need immense, long-term investments, ongoing effort, patience and perseverance to restore and establish a circular, sustainable model.

We are calling for major industry reform aligned with the Labor Government’s Progressive productivity agenda, net zero transition by 2050, commitment to strengthening economic resilience, the National Waste Action Plan and the Circular Economy Framework.

We invite you to support the implementation of this comprehensive, though not exhaustive, set of policies aimed at fostering a longstanding circular, ethical, and sustainable textiles industry in Australia. These measures are essential for the wellbeing of current and future generations, as well as for the health of people, environment, and economy. We encourage you to review and endorse this petition.

This document requests that the Parliament of Australia, through the Senate, consider adopting these policies into legislation:

• gradual and drastic reduction of virgin resource use through caps and limits executed with textiles industry consultation
• tax ultra-fast fashion brands and invest the revenue in the development of Australia’s clothing industry
• in lieu of an ultra-fast fashion tax, the suspension of the de minimis rule which exempts goods valued under $1000 from duties and taxes
• ban fast fashion advertising on all mediums both online and offline
  stronger regulatory framework for the protection of Australia’s domestic textiles industry, intellectual property, onshore manufacturing, fair competition and the penalisation of greenwashing
• investments, capital and other forms of support for the industry including tech innovations such as 3D tech operations, digital passports, AI tools that that reduce waste in supply chains and sort textiles for reuse and recycling
• gradual phase out of virgin plastic/synthetic materials to minimise microplastic pollution and to prevent the accumulation of hazardous chemicals in human bodies, air, soil & water (in consultation with the textiles industry)
• ban or restrict toxic chemicals in textile manufacturing using guidelines from the Zero Discharge of Hazardous Chemicals Foundation or other similar programs
• support biofibres to drive change in primary production with efforts to sustainably grow fibrous crops for high-quality textiles such as cotton and hemp
• ban the destruction of unsold clothes
• systemised regenerative farming practices for fibre crops
• a tax on ‘virgin’ or un-recycled plastic for businesses that import or manufacture plastic packaging and clothing in 2035 (executed with full industry protection, involvement and consultation)
• public awareness & education campaigns to encourage people to buy Australian fashion, awareness of potential health implications of toxic chemicals in some fast fashion products and behaviour change towards overconsumption
• other forms of protection and business support for Australian clothing brands and the textiles industry.
   

Develop Australia’s circular textiles industry 

• Seamless is the national clothing product stewardship scheme designed to make brands responsible for the entire lifecycle of their products to keep materials out of landfill and in circulation. It should be made into an Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) scheme meaning it becomes mandatory for brands to join the scheme
• under a national clothing product stewardship scheme or EPR scheme, the levy paid by businesses per garment under the scheme should be 50 cents or otherwise an amount that’s been proven to sufficiently covers circular design and post-consumer logistics such as collections, infrastructure, warehousing, sorting, redistribution, garment decommissioning, reuse, repairs, fibre-to-fibre recycling, labour costs, transportation and composting 
• long-term investments and support mechanisms to establish and maintain national, systemic apparel reuse such as reselling, swapping, hiring, mending, repairing, recycling and composting initiatives and facilities
• long-term investments and policies for repair rebates, discounts and the implementation of the Right to Repair initiative
• funding for R&D research and initiatives for domestic fibre-to-fibre recycling of all textiles and composting (regeneration) of textiles
  investment and business support to further develop and scale existing onshore fibre-to-fibre recycling innovations
• ban textile waste exports by 2030 akin to the National Waste Action Plan’s ban on other materials, in favour of onshore reuse and recycling business models that will create domestic jobs, recycled products to boost productivity and the economy
• tax breaks, incentives and procurement for circular business models and products including policies requiring percentages of recycled materials within new products
• education reform with apprenticeships, primary & secondary education, TAFEs and universities to include ecological, circular and sustainable sourcing, design, garment technology, garment reuse skills and technology.
   

Enforce ethics and sustainability requirements in supply chains

• introduce a forced labour import ban by amending the Customs Act 1901 to prohibit the importation of goods, particularly textiles and clothing, produced wholly or partly with forced labour (as defined by the International Labour Organisation) unless the importer can demonstrate that forced labour was not involved. This measure, similar to laws in the United States and Canada, would prevent high-risk goods from entering the Australian market and incentivise brands to trace and clean up their supply chains. High-risk goods may include products originating from regions or industries with documented labour abuses
• strengthen the Modern Slavery Act through mandatory due diligence, penalties and remediation by amending the Modern Slavery Act 2018 (Cth) to make human rights due diligence mandatory for companies with annual revenue over $100 million, requiring them to identify, prevent and remedy exploitation in their supply chains. Introduce civil penalties for non-compliance and direct collected fines to independent remediation programs supporting affected workers and communities for instance, a 2% fine of the brand’s annual revenue with these funds invested in the environmental and social development programs (applicable mainly to businesses with revenue of $100 million or higher)
• enhance transparency by publishing product origin-country risk ratings, ensuring that consumers and businesses alike can make informed decisions.  This would transform the Modern Slavery Act 2018 from a reporting mechanism into an enforceable accountability framework
• use trade and procurement measures to incentivise ethical production by requiring government procurement to favour suppliers with independently verified ethical and sustainable supply chains for uniforms and textiles. Apply targeted tariffs or tax incentives to encourage onshore, fair-wage manufacturing and disincentivise ultra-cheap, high-risk imports
• environmental & social reporting requirements for apparel businesses initially using available & existing metrics with an evolution to stronger metrics for transparency on impacts such as greenhouse gas emissions, energy, water, supply chain, plastic, chemical management
• independent, enforceable living wage verification in global supply chains.

We’re saddled with the outcomes in the recent National Climate Risk Assessment, rapid biodiversity loss and according to some scientists, the possibility of earth’s sixth mass extinction. Now is the time to change the entire system.

The trade policies of the early 1990s of Hawke and Keating governments significantly impacted Australia's textile and clothing with job losses, de-industrialisation and loss in "value-adding" capacity.

With this petition we might be able to prevent further decline in the sector. And create the potential for a thriving industry over the next twenty-five years and far beyond. Sharing the petition to help encourage collective action toward these goals. 

Together we can initiate this reform and positively change the sector for current and future generations.  

Sign the petition, share on social media channels and to various networks!

*sources

The Australia Institute (2024). Australians revealed as the world's biggest consumers, fuelling waste crisis. (Media release). https://australiainstitute.org.au/post/australians-revealed-as-worlds-biggest-fashion-consumers-fuelling-waste-crisis/

Seamless (2025). 2024 National clothing benchmark for Australia. https://www.seamlessaustralia.com/news/2024-australian-clothing-benchmark

Roy Morgan (2025). Temu and Amazon have each gained close to a million shoppers in the last year, Shein has also gained over half a million shoppers.  https://www.roymorgan.com/findings/10016-amazon-temu-and-shein-growth-story-continues-september-2025

Eco Styles (2025). Policies and initiatives to help save the Australian fashion industry for future generations. https://www.ecostyles.com.au/blogs/policies-and-initiatives-to-help-save-the-australian-fashion-industry-for-future-generations

Real Commercial.com.au (2025). Revealed: beloved Aussie retail brands that went bust after Covid. https://www.realcommercial.com.au/news/revealed-beloved-aussie-retail-brands-that-went-bust-after-covid?campaignType=external&campaignChannel=syndication&campaignName=ncacont&campaignContent=&campaignSource=newscomau&campaignPlacement=realestatemodule

The Australia Institute (2024). The Seamless scheme and developing an Australian circular textiles industry.  https://australiainstitute.org.au/post/the-seamless-scheme-and-developing-an-australian-circular-textiles-industry/

Textile Waste in Australia (2024). https://australiainstitute.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/The-Australia-Institute-Textiles-Waste-In-Australia-Web.pdf

Walk Free (2023). Global Slavery Index. Perth: Minderoo Foundation. (Garments and textiles identified among Australia’s top five high-risk imports). https://cdn.walkfree.org/content/uploads/2023/05/17114737/Global-Slavery-Index-2023.pdf

WIEGO (2022). Protecting Homeworkers in the Garment and Footwear Sector: Lessons from Australia. https://www.wiego.org/research-library-publications/protecting-homeworkers-garment-footwear-australia/

ABC News (2025). “Migrant garment outworkers earning less than half the minimum wage in Australia.” https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-05-24/clothes-made-by-outworkers-earning-less-than-half-minimum-wage/105330754

Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade (2021). Inquiry into the Customs Amendment (Banning Goods Produced by Forced Labour) Bill 2021. https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Bills_Legislation/Bills_Search_Results/Result?bId=s1307

SBS News (2023). Senate renews push for forced labour import ban following international examples.

McMillian (2023), ‘Report - Statutory Review of the Modern Slavery Act 2018. https://www.ag.gov.au/sites/default/files/2023-05/Report%20-%20Statutory%20Review%20of%20the%20Modern%20Slavery%20Act%202018.PDF