18-05-2025
Thrifted clothing booming at this year's Australian Fashion Week
Molly isn't allowing herself to buy any new clothes this year.
She says it's part of her plan to become more intentional with her clothing consumption.
"I've put myself on a total ban from buying clothes," she tells the ABC.
"I looked in my wardrobe and saw all these pieces that I would wear once a year and it just seemed really wasteful to me."
She's one of the many people who were at this year's Australian Fashion Week, prioritising sustainability in fashion choices.
"The overconsumption is crazy … to me it just seems ridiculous and excessive when we have so many beautiful pieces in our cupboard," Molly says.
The fashion industry is one of the largest contributors to global greenhouse gas emissions, with Australia ranking as one of the highest consumers of clothing per capita globally.
Many Australians are now recognising this and changing their consumption patterns.
Dr Harriette Richards, a senior lecturer in fashion and textiles at RMIT University, says she's seen a real rise in second-hand shopping in Australia and across the globe over the last five years.
"It's becoming one of the largest markets globally," she says.
For Risna and Priyanka, almost everything worn at Fashion Week was either second-hand or passed down from family members.
"80 per cent of my wardrobe is from Depop or thrifted in some format," Priyanka says.
Both women say they prefer to shop this way.
"A lot of the older styles are trending again and also I feel quality-wise, thrifted things are still really good," Risna says.
Priyanka agrees and added that thrifting is much more affordable.
"Quality is going down, prices are increasing. So, for me, that's just not sustainable," she says.
It isn't just consumers shopping second-hand.
Local brands are also turning their attention to recycling.
For just over a year, Marta Marcos has been running a sustainable clothing line called Mine Yours Theirs that re-purposes pre-loved items.
"I'm very in love with doilies, that's what I focus on most and I turn them into pieces with blouses, cuffs or collars," she says.
Ms Marcos says she also stitches the consumer's name into an item they buy.
"It's made to be passed along because I stitch your name in the back and then you can sell it back to me," she says.
"To create this community of people who wore the same piece and keep it alive."
When she returned to the fashion world after a career in marketing, Ms Marcos says she knew she needed to do something different.
"The fact that fast fashion exists is what made me create this brand and create it in this way," she says.
"There's enough clothes out there to dress the next six generations … that's pretty wild isn't it?
She manufactures out of a studio in Sydney's Surry Hills and sells at markets and pop-up stores.
She says despite the competition with fast fashion, she is hopeful she can cut through.
"It's very sad and very damaging to the planet and the industry," she adds.
"I think people are starting to understand and governments are starting to understand. Brands are starting to understand.
"Hopefully the way people produce and buy fashion is going to change."
Dr Richards says sustainability is "fundamental" to the future of Australia's fashion industry.
"I just think there's too much evidence now of how much environmental degradation the fashion industry produces in terms of waste, in terms of energy use, in terms of water use," she says.
The 2018—19 financial year found that an estimated 800,000 tonnes of textile, leather and rubber waste was discarded, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, with a little less than 75 per cent sent directly to landfill.
"The only way forward for the fashion industry is to take seriously the demands of sustainability and social ethics in terms of production ... and ensuring we have resources going into the future," Dr Richards says.
She says despite the competition the second-hand market has with fast fashion, she feels hopeful the sustainable market will continue to grow.
Jay Walton, founder of Re-Loved Apparel, is lobbying the government for a nationwide rollout of clothing recycling bins.
"As an Indigenous-owned brand, we feel a deep connection to Country and a responsibility to protect it for future generations," he says.
"The fashion industry's impact on the environment is undeniable, and it's time for us to take collective action.
"By introducing accessible clothing recycling bins, we can divert textiles from landfills and give them a second life through upcycling and recycling initiatives."
He says it's something everyone can be a part of.
"Every single person wears garments, every single person either grows out of garments or they stay in them and they don't want them anymore," he adds.
"Vinnies and places like that are overwhelmed, they cannot keep up with the demand and the volume.
"Instead of just having a yellow and a red and a green bin, have whatever colour lid you want on top of it and that could go to recycling."
