Monash Business School accounting students have partnered with Upparel – an Australian leader in textile recovery and recycling – to address 700 million tonnes of unwanted textiles every year.
After clothes and other fabrics are donated, Upparel will give the unwanted textiles to charitable organisations or convert them into super-fine fibre material for products such as pillows and insulation.
Two tonnes of unwanted textiles have been removed from the landfill after students encouraged the community to donate goods.
Also, the students organised Textile Waste Day at Monash University’s Clayton campus to educate preschoolers from the Monash Children’s Centre about circular fashion and textile waste and set up some creative activities for kids, using textiles.
As one of the coordinators of the event, Briana Dias, bachelor of commerce and global studies, is passionate about working for a corporation that prioritises sustainability.
“Stakeholders are seeking transparency before investing and partnering with business, so more businesses need to prioritise sustainable accounting,” she said.
“All industries need to increase their focus on the circular economy and other sustainable activities to positively impact future generations.”
The project belongs to the Accounting for Sustainability unit. According to lecturer Annemarie Conrath-Hargreaves, the unit helps to provide our students with the analytical and creative thinking tools they need to solve important complex problems related to the climate crisis.
Monash University is one of Australia’s largest and also has campuses in Malaysia, China, India and Italy.
- Recommended reading: Italian textile company creates zero-waste luxury wool from scrap fabric.
