Vinnies provides 750kg of fashion waste for repurpose at Sydney Festival

For one summer weekend, Tumbalong Park became a destination for style-conscious Sydneysiders to realise their recycled fashion dreams.

On the opening Saturday of the House of Fast Fashun event, a total of 131 people and one dog (a poodle) participated in runway shows wearing elaborate garments created from a 750kg pile of fashion waste, provided for the event by Vinnies. Over 800 people watched on as the runway participants flaunted their catwalk creations.

The activation, which was organised by Melbourne-based collective Fast Fushun as part of Sydney Festival, was held to raise awareness about the overwhelming amount of waste produced by the fashion industry. Teneille Clerke, one of the four artists that make up Fast Fashun, explained how the group have been collaborating for about a decade to hold events that engage people in climate action using fashion as a tool.

Vinnies volunteers were on hand to assist participants in cutting, sewing, and safety-pinning their creations before their designs were paraded on the catwalk. Lizzy, who can usually be found at the Crown Street Vinnies working behind the counter or sorting stock, volunteered so that she could encourage others to learn sewing skills.

Positioned at a sewing machine under a temporary shade umbrella, Lizzy was keen to help despite the mid-thirties temperatures that Sydney experienced on the Sunday. “It’s been very fun, but quite challenging because of the heat and the wind,” said Lizzy. When asked about the people that have stopped by for assistance, she explained that their fashion projects have been “mainly dresses, but I have someone here who is working on a bag… they’re all very ambitious and I love to see that.”

Vinnies requests quality donations

Vinnies hopes to shine a light on the quality of op shop donations through the House of Fast Fashun collaboration. When charities receive donations of dirty, stained, or torn garments, they can’t be resold in shops. Budget brand fashion items are also of low value as customers aren’t willing to buy these items second hand when they can get the same product new for just a few dollars.

Anuja Mukim, Product Stewardship Manager at St Vincent de Paul Society, says that the 750kg of fashion waste provided by Vinnies for the event represents just a fraction of the total amount of clothing that can’t be sold at stores.

According to a report published by Charitable Recycling Australia, 86% of the clothing collected by charities is recovered and reused, but only 16.5% ends up sold in charity shops. Just 0.5% is provided as welfare. As for the clothes that are unsellable, 36% is repurposed domestically and 33% is exported for reuse overseas.

Anuja hopes that the House of Fast Fashun event will encourage people to question the quality of their future clothing donations to Vinnies. She says that everyone who is clearing out their wardrobes should remember that “if you’d give it to a mate, it’s good to donate”.

The cost of recycling or disposing of unsellable goods reduces the total profits made by Vinnies stores, says Anuja, and that money would otherwise go towards helping people in need. When Vinnies receives higher quality donations, the shops can raise more funds and the Society can use that to better serve the community.

Find out more about what you can donate to Vinnies.