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1. Introduction
Australians consume twice the global average of textiles and are the second largest consumer of textiles per capita worldwide (Carmichael, 2015). Recent investigations by the Australian Circular Textile Association (ACTA) on textile use in New South Wales indicate this statistic may be even higher (NSW Environmental Protection Authority, 2021). Australians are deeply engaged in a linear take/make/waste apparel supply chain characterised by trend-driven, low-priced, short-lifetime apparel (IBISWorld, 2019). With a lack of regulatory legislation on textiles and a national waste crisis, Australian charities are burdened with the costs of disposing of poor-quality clothing unfit for resale (Payne, 2016; Payne and Ferrero-Regis, 2019), and used apparel is exported abroad to developing countries at scale (Payne and Binotto, 2017). These issues are currently driving a growing sentiment amongst Australian stakeholders and leadership for a shift towards a circular economy (CE) and product stewardship (PS) in the sector (Australian Fashion Council, 2021a, b; Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment, 2021a).
Literature from Europe highlights the challenges of converting traditional supply chain systems to circular models, and the advantages of small to medium enterprises (SMEs) and start-ups in building them from scratch (Henninger et al., 2016; Hvass and Pedersen, 2019; Pedersen et al., 2019). Australian fashion SMEs comprise 88% of Australian apparel manufacturing (Miller, 2019) and their business models and strategies have the potential to influence larger companies and the wider sector (Goworek, 2011; Sandvik and Stubbs, 2019). They are therefore a significant group to consider for change to the take/make/waste fashion model in Australia. Internationally, SMEs are using design-thinking strategies to reconsider clothing design, manufacture and consumption and building innovative business models around the principles of CE (Andersen and Earley, 2014; Andrews, 2015; Henninger et al., 2016; Huynh, 2021; Hvass and Pedersen, 2019; Raebild and Bang, 2017; Sandvik and Stubbs, 2019).
Limited scholarly research linking CE theory and practice in the Australian fashion sector exists, and this paper endeavours to address this gap. Interviews with three owners of Australian circular fashion businesses and a focus group with 10 Western Australian fashion advocates of sustainability provide an Australian context. This research aims to identify the barriers to circularity in the Australian fashion sector, and map the practice of three Australian SMEs overcoming these...