Boomers are thrifty shoppers and Aussies throw out more than we think
Fast fashion has become the subject of much criticism lately, mostly because of its reliance on cruel (and often illegal) conditions for workers, and its enormous toll on the environment – including increases in clothing heading to landfill.
A new report from Vanish has found that the average Australian buys 27kg of new clothes and discards 23kg every year, with the nation throwing away a whopping $6 billion worth in this past financial year.
The report, called Stain on the Nation, asked Aussies about their clothing habits and their opinions on everything from whether you should throw clothes in the red bin or donate to charity, to how much waste they think they throw out each year.
It found that 6,000kg of clothing enters landfill every ten minutes, which is a serious issue considering clothing takes years to break down and releases carbon emissions in the process.
Much of the country (40 percent) also believe that Australia ranks 6th and 12th place in the world for textile consumption per person, when in actual fact we are in second place, behind the US.
Surprisingly, the report also found that those aged over 55 were the thriftiest of the different generations, with 76 percent spending less than $50 a month on new clothes.
In comparison, 71 percent of 18-25-year-olds spend more than $50 a month on clothing.
But the difference in spending could be attributed in part to the gap between the old age pension and the cost of living, with the Australian Bureau of Statistics revealing that living costs have increased by 3.4 percent for age pension households, versus 2.6 percent for working households, according to the ABC.
Following the report, Vanish announced a new campaign, with texticle upcycler Upparel, to divert one million clothing items from landfill over the next two years, starting with an installation of 3,000kg of clothing at Sydney’s Bondi Beach and in St Kilda, Melbourne.
With 6,000kg across both cities, the installations are meant to represent the amount of clothing thrown away every 10 minutes.
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