A new Adelaide University report has found South Australians are still overwhelmingly buying clothes new, despite growing awareness of circular fashion options.
In its survey of almost 600 South Australian residents and collected data on just over 2800 garments, 89 percent of garments were purchased new.
The report titled “Clothing Longevity and Circular Textiles in South Australia” investigated how people buy, wear, care for and dispose of clothing, also involving in-depth interviews with consumers and stakeholders across the textile and clothing sector.
It was funded by Green Industries South Australia through the Women in Circular Economy Leadership Scholarship, and led by Dr Kate Sansome from Adelaide University’s School of Marketing.
The findings show consumer behavior is central to reducing textile waste and keeping clothes in use for longer. While awareness of circular models such as resale, rental and repair is relatively high, participation remains limited.
“One of the biggest implications is that we need to place greater emphasis on consumer behavior,” Dr Sansome said.
“There are already many great initiatives underway across design, manufacturing, and end-of-life recovery, but if consumers continue to purchase clothing at unsustainable levels, textile waste will remain a significant challenge.”
The report found 77 percent of respondents had clothing in their wardrobe that had not been worn in the past year. Of those with unworn clothing, 29.4 percent said around a quarter of their wardrobe was unworn, while 24.8 percent said around half was unworn.
“The most common reason was that clothing no longer fit or felt comfortable, followed by changes in personal style and whether the item was still considered fashionable,” Dr Sansome said.
“This highlights the importance of encouraging consumers to purchase clothing that reflects their own style rather than purchasing micro-trends.”
While just over half of respondents reported they were likely to donate clothing to charity shops or humanitarian organizations, disposal through general waste was also common with 39.5 percent likely to throw clothing in the bin.
Repairing clothing was one of the clearest ways to extend the life of clothing. Repaired garments remained in use for about 2.5 years longer than those that had never been repaired, yet only one in 10 items had been repaired during their lifespan.
“Older participants reported stronger repair skills and tended to keep clothing for longer, while younger consumers were interested in learning repair skills but often lacked the confidence or practical skills,” Dr Sansome said.
“Many younger participants still relied on parents or other family members to make repairs, highlighting a growing gap in repair skills.”
Participants were interested in clothing swaps, repair sessions and upcycling events, but many were unsure where to find them or felt existing options lacked the social and community elements that would encourage younger people to get involved.
The report found not all circular business models produced the same sustainability outcomes. Some consumers used rent-a-rack services to sell impulsive purchases, while digital resale platforms such as Depop were often used to find unique items rather than replace new purchases altogether.
“This may explain why most reported clothing purchases were still bought new, despite the growing popularity of second-hand shopping,” Dr Sansome said.
The report also found emotional attachment mattered, with gifted garments and clothing with personal meaning, including sports, music or fandom merchandise, were consistently kept and worn for longer.
Dr Sansome has been working in the sustainable fashion space for nearly a decade and finds the data concerning. Australia generates around 300,000 tons of textile waste each year, with Australians purchasing an average of 55 clothing items per person annually.
“The statistics on clothing consumption keep increasing and are becoming difficult to ignore,” she said.
“Australians are among the world's highest consumers of clothing, yet a significant proportion of those garments end up in landfill or are exported overseas, often when they are still wearable.
“While there has been considerable attention to sustainable design and manufacturing, and to recycling and charity shop donations, there has been limited attention on consumers and the use phase of clothing.
“If we want to transition to a circular economy, we need to better understand people's everyday clothing habits, and the barriers and motivations that influence behaviors such as repairing, reusing, reselling and buying second-hand, in a responsible way.”
The report recommends making circular fashion behaviors easier, more visible and more appealing, including through education and behavior change campaigns, local influencers and role models to normalize repair and second-hand shopping, and a digital platform connecting people with local repair services.
It also suggests more clothing swaps, resale opportunities and community events, and continued support for community-led repair and upcycling initiatives.