13 Oct Preschoolers learn to convert textile waste into a valuable resource
Did you know the average Australian purchases 27kgs of textile per year and throws out 23kg?
Monash Business School students are diverting up to two tonnes of textiles from landfill by encouraging the community to donate unwanted clothing and textile items, and teaching students as young as kindergarten age about circular fashion and textile waste.
The accounting students partnered with Upparel to reduce the enormous 700 million tonnes of textile waste produced annually. The Australasian fashion recycler, gives unwanted textiles to charitable organisations or repurposes them into super-fine fibre material for products such as pillows and insulation.
Preschoolers from the Monash Children’s Centre donated items and participated in educational and creative activities organised by the students at an event held at Monash University’s Clayton campus.
Bachelor of Commerce and Global Studies student Briana Dias helped coordinate the event and says she’s passionate about working for a corporation that prioritises sustainability.
The project is part of the Accounting for Sustainability unit where students learn how to critically analyse sustainability disclosures based on real-life scenarios.
Lecturer Dr Annemarie Conrath-Hargreaves said the unit aims to move students away from “silo thinking in business”.
“We want to provide our students with the analytical and creative thinking tools they need to solve important complex problems related to the climate crisis,” she said.
“Accounting plays a critical role in this as it is both the starting and end point for other business areas, including management, marketing, and finance, to be effective.”
Main Image: Monash students and Childcare kids.
Small Image: End products made from recycled clothing.
Seeing the amount of textile waste produced on a daily basis, the UPPAREL philosophy has always been how to turn the linear fashion economy into a circular one.
We still don’t have it all figured out or all the answers but leading the way in decreasing textile waste has been an epic journey – and we are just getting started!
