Page 18 - Tropic Magazine Issue 29

TROPIC • ENVIRONMENT
Green threads
FASHION WASTE
Despite our small population,
Australians are the second
largest consumers of textiles
in the world, which is creating
landfill and air pollution.
More than 500 million kilograms of
clothing ends up in landfill in Australia
annually and these decomposing
materials can take hundreds of years to
break down, releasing methane as
they do.
However, there are some simple
solutions. Here’s Tropic’s guide to how you
can locally help reduce, reuse and recycle
your once-loved threads.
1
2
1. Lending Luxury
2. Towels by St Vincent de Paul
18 • Tropic • Issue 29
1 No fast fashion
Choose quality over quantity. Just say no to cheap,
disposable clothes that – let’s face it – are generally made
in sweatshops overseas by companies that have no social
conscience. Choose well and if you need something fancy
for a special occasion, hire.
Tropic recommends:
Lending Luxury, Cairns
Bella Boutique Hire, online
Victor Mellick, Cairns
2 Go old-school
We know shoe glue just doesn’t hold up too well in the
tropics but that doesn’t mean your favourite heels should
go in the bin! You can mend shoes and clothing that are
coming apart and if you don’t have the know-how or time,
there are local businesses that do.
Tropic recommends:
Lockys Shoe Repairs, Edmonton
Cairns Needle at Work, Cairns City
Theo’s Shoe Hospital, Cairns City
3 Buy second-hand
It doesn’t stop at garage sales and op shops. Get along to
a Your Wardrobe Cairns event where you can buy, swap or
sell pre-loved clothes, millinery, shoes and handbags. Plus,
did you know you can purchase hardly used ex hotel sheets
and towels? Laundry companies have to regularly turn over
stock so they always have excess for sale.
Tropic recommends:
Your Wardrobe Cairns, Cairns Showgrounds
Animal Welfare Op Shop, Paramatta Park
Pease Street Linen, Manoora
KJ’s Closet, Manoora
Clothing conversion
If you really have clothes you just can’t save, send them along to
Endeavour Foundation at Portsmith. This charitable organisation
turns old textiles into industrial cleaning cloths for mechanical,
engineering, mining, and tech industries. Or, if you’re heading to
the op shop to donate and have clothes that can’t be salvaged, St
Vincent de Paul might be your pick. That’s because they’re now
selling a whole product range including blankets, tea towels and
face washers that have been created from donated fabrics. Some
old towels and blankets can also be donated to animal shelters
but check with the organisation first before dropping off a load.