Around 1.55 billion new textile items are imported into Australia every year, and most of what gets donated to charity doesn't survive to be resold. One Hobart op shop is trying to change that math, one repair at a time.
The scale of the problem
Of everything donated to Hobart City Mission, only about 20 per cent is fit to sell as-is. Nationally, of Australia's 310,316 tonnes of annual clothing donations, 36 per cent becomes rags, 33 per cent is shipped overseas, 16.5 per cent sells in charity stores, 14 per cent goes straight to landfill, and just 0.4 per cent supports welfare programs directly.
The fix being trialled
The "Rinse, Repair and Rewear" pilot, funded by Tasmania's Waste and Resource Recovery Board, trains volunteers to wash and mend donated clothing rather than write it off. An early audit of 2,945 items found 42 per cent could be recovered just by washing, and another 11 per cent with repair.
Why it's happening at all
Researcher Yassie Samie's read on the underlying problem is blunt: "There is simply too much of everything." Fast fashion's low cost and low quality make garments feel disposable rather than durable, which is exactly what's filling op shop backrooms faster than volunteers can sort them. Hobart City Mission plans to turn the pilot into a handbook other op shops around the country can use.
Read the full story from ABC News, 11 April 2026.
Related reading: The Real Cost of Zero Waste Beauty and Compostable vs Recyclable vs Biodegradable.
Fix it, reuse it, or make it so it composts instead of piling up, same instinct, different aisle.