Encouraging donations to combat climate change
Fast fashion’s hidden environmental toll
It’s widely known that disposable plastic items and driving to and from work are having a damaging impact on our environment. What is less spoken about is one of the biggest polluters of all, the fashion industry.
In the 1990s and 2000s, low-cost fashion skyrocketed as online shopping took off and fast-fashion chains ‘littered’ our shopping centres. These brands borrowed the looks and design elements from the top fashion houses and reproduced them quickly and at a much more affordable price point.
The seasons are changing!
The incredibly fast turnover of fashion now sees retailers pushing upwards of 52 ‘style seasons’ a year. In the past, retailers would launch new styles four times a year concurrent with the traditional seasons. It’s now the norm for fast-fashion retailers to push out new ‘seasons’ of clothing every seven days!
This constant production of new fashion styles, supplemented by never-ending sales, continues to feed our fast-food diet for fashion. Australians are the world’s second largest consumers of textiles, purchasing on average 27 kilograms of new clothing and other textiles every year.
Purchasing clothing at a frenetic pace, we are equally as quick to discard it. An estimated 6000 kilograms of clothing and textiles are sent to Australian landfills every 10 minutes!
The most popular clothing on the market is made from synthetic fibers which have a devastating impact on our environment.
Once these items reach our landfills, they can sit there for more than 200 years and as they decompose they emit methane – a greenhouse gas more potent than carbon!
Think before you head to the bin.
So, before you bin it, why not consider donating your unwanted clothes and small household items to Diabetes Victoria.
For more than 20 years, Diabetes Victoria has run a successful collection service with our partners Savers Australia. Since 1997, we have been collecting pre-loved and unwanted clothing and small household items, which have been on-sold-to, and by, Savers.
Every donation you make brings Diabetes Victoria that much closer to finding a cure for diabetes. It also funds much needed services for Victorians living with, or at risk of, diabetes.
To date, more than 60 million items have been recycled by Diabetes Victoria, doing our part to reduce landfill, a significant and growing issue in Australia.
We offer a free pick up collection service that can be conveniently booked online. It’s easy as clear, click and collect.
To schedule a free donation pickup, visit our Donate your pre-loved clothes page.
