As a little girl, Tanya Plibersek had just two ‘special’ dresses: one was a hand-me-down from her cousin, who she idolised, and the other was made by her aunt.
Now, she’s one of the most fashion-forward women in Canberra, hard to miss in the halls of Parliament House in her colourful, two-piece pantsuits.
Speaking at eBay’s Circular Fashion Fund showcase on Wednesday morning, the Minister for Environment confessed she’s far from perfect when it comes to her fashion choices but said all consumers, along with businesses and governments, have a role to play in promoting sustainable fashion.
‘The scenario, you’ve all seen it – and occasionally done it – you’re scrolling social media, you see an outfit worn by an influencer. You buy it with the click of a button,’ she said.
‘It becomes one of 56 items of clothing that the average Australian buys in a year. You wear it maybe once or twice before it loses its shape, or you decide it doesn’t look good on you.’
Ms Plibersek told the crowd most Aussies try to do the right thing from this point onward. They bag it up with all the other unwanted clothes and take it to a charity bin.
‘But, like most Australian charities at the moment, it is overwhelmed by the volume of low quality fast fashion they end up with. There’s not a market for it, and it ends up in landfill.’
Ms Plibersek shared her own personal relationship with fashion growing up.
In stark contrast to many of the children of today, she had two good dresses which ‘made her feel like a princess’. One was a hand-me-down and the other hand-made.
‘Those really special things that you love and treasure,’ she said.
‘Back then, clothing was high quality and the expectation was that it would last for years or decades.’
In fact, Ms Plibersek said that even today, in 2024, she still owns, wears and looks after clothes she purchased in the 1980s, 40 years ago.
She noted bike shorts and slip dresses have circled back to being in vogue, and that the biggest difference between the fashion now and in the ’80s is ‘the extraordinary acceleration in production and consumption’.
‘Improved affordability of clothing is a good thing’
Ms Plibersek has no issue with the downward pressure placed on clothing prices – which is, in part, in response to the wide range of options now available on the market.
‘Parents shouldn’t have to choose between paying the electricity bill and buying a new pair of school shoes,’ she said.
The problem, she argued, is with the promotion of ‘throwaway culture’.
It’s the marketing strategies which tell us we must buy a new outfit for every event, that we must have the latest trend to be fashionable, which is the root cause of the problems facing the industry.
‘We’re not talking about someone who buys a cheap t-shirt that their kids wear to school again and again. That is fine,’ she said. ‘There is certainly, unequivocally a place for that.
‘I’m talking about a system where people are buying something, wearing it once, and it ends up in landfill. There is too much of that.’
Poisoning the world with good intentions
Australian charities are forking out millions of dollars each year, sorting through and dealing with donations they receive which aren’t fit for purpose.
Ms Plibersek said consumers often have the best of intentions when they take their used clothes to donation stores, but the reality is, many can’t keep up with the sheer amount of clothing they’re receiving.
‘This is money those charities should be spending on helping needy Australians,’ she said.
‘Not dealing with our guilt of parting with our one-wear item.’
To put it into perspective, Ms Plibersek told the crowd products made from synthetic fibres will take 500 years to decompose.
‘Those yoga pants made from carbon fuels will outlive you by many centuries.
‘Our beautiful, natural world has become a dumping ground for clothes we can’t even call pre-loved anymore, because the relationship with that item was so brief, you can hardly call it love.’
eBay’s solution and the way forward
On Wednesday, eBay dished out $200,000 in prize money to three businesses who are committed to promoting and improving circularity in the fashion industry.
The first prize recipient, Dempstah, recycles Australian textile waste into newly spun yarn, giving it a new lease on life.
This yarn can then be turned into knitwear, homewares and furniture.
Founder Guy said he hopes to establish a mill in Tasmania to encourage local production and create more local textile – and environmentally friendly – jobs.
Ms Plibersek said: ‘If we can extend the lifecycle of clothing, if we can repair it, on-sell it or repurpose it, that is great.
‘Can we swap clothes? Can we rent them? Can we embrace thrifting, as my kids have.’
The Environment Minister said increasing the lifespan of a shirt by a factor of three – from an average of 20 wears to 60 – reduces the water and carbon footprint of that piece by 66 per cent.
‘As someone who is still wearing things that I bought in the 1980s, that makes me very happy,’ she said.
‘The fashion industry that makes the profits has to be responsible for doing something better for the environment… We should not have to rely on consumer preferences alone to change the way we consume fashion.’