An industry-first fabric takeback scheme for Australia’s largest fabric printer, AFI Branding has hit a sustainability milestone by diverting more than 250 tonnes of fabric from landfill by partnering with Coritex textile and media print specialists and circular industry leaders Circular Centre and with their Circular Textile Waste Service.
AFI Branding managing director, Glenn Watson, said he was proud to have achieved this milestone by changing processes to reduce the business’ footprint on such a scale.
“Every month, we print in-excess of 15,000 square metres of fabric for retail, events and exhibition industries and we recognise we have a responsibility to where that fabric ends up,” Watson said.
“In 2019, we launched the first fabric take-back scheme in the signage industry – ‘be sustainable’ to a great response. We are excited to continue shaping the future of textile flow in Australia.”
Watson said of the new opportunities; “Being sustainable can sometimes be unfairly seen as being expensive or adding more complexity to business processes. But authentic sustainability partnerships are about closing the loop – providing what one company perceives as ‘waste’ as a valuable raw material to others. The key is finding the right partners and whilst that takes time and commitment, it’s never been more important.”
The Circular Centre is working to create a range of innovative solutions for a variety of with AFI Branding’s signage types.
“Taking back signage is trickier than you imagine. Like clothing, there are a variety of textiles and finishes plus take into consideration what’s printed on them, so to reuse, redesign and repurpose these resources into other products is an exciting step,” says Alison Jose, Director of Circular Centre.
One recent initiative that has significantly contributed to AFI Branding’s 250 tonne milestone is Circular Centre’s partnership with Sealy whereby specific fabrics are sent to Queensland to be used as raw materials in Australian mattress products. This circular initiative was assisted by the Circulate grant from NSW Environment Protection Authority Waste Less Recycle More Initiative funded from the waste levy that supports aspects of the Circular Textile Waste Service.
“Our 2022 plans include an innovative Circular ReDesign Competition for accessories and interior designers. When product designers get involved, we see incredible resource innovations for textile waste redesign. In fact, next week we announce the winners of our Circular Denim Redesign Competition collaboration with General Pants Co. who collected over 1000 pairs of unwanted denim which we gave out to fashion designers to re-imagine and the results are astounding,” says Jose.
Comment below to have your say on this story.
If you have a news story or tip-off, get in touch at editorial@sprinter.com.au.
Sign up to the Sprinter newsletter