Local groups opposing fast fashion methods want to see more action taken in New Zealand.
New Zealand was not an exception to the global issue, with an estimated 380,000 tons of imported textiles ending up in landfills annually, reported RNZ.
Chief Executive of Mindful Fashion Jacinta Fitzgerald would prefer to see government regulations to reduce that waste.
She had been monitoring developments elsewhere, where governments were beginning to recognize the seriousness of the issue.
A 4 cent per garment charge was suggested by the Seamless Clothing Stewardship Scheme in Australia as a way to promote circular business models, encourage better design, and increase clothing recycling.
If not enough businesses joined up, Australia's Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek, who recently declared that people's leggings would outlive them when they exercised to live longer, had vowed to make the program mandatory.
The textile and apparel supply chain in New Zealand, according to Fitzgerald, is a "very complex system and very few stages of the supply chain happen here."
It was one thing to impose taxes on imported items; quite another to cope with the waste.
There isn't much infrastructure left where we can produce textiles.
"So to actually recycle old clothes to make new textiles is something that we may not be able to do here."
In the meantime, a bill aimed at imposing fines on fast fashion items was recently approved by French parliamentarians, and the European Union authorized a prohibition on textile returns and unsold merchandise.
One of the most significant things that legislation was doing, according to useful co-founder Bernadette Casey, was trying to define fast fashion.
"An evaluation of the clothing created, as well as the frequency and velocity of new collections, will be employed. That legal definition will establish the foundation for applying the charges."
She added that there were more prospects for the antique textiles and their parts.
"While we don't have the ability to turn textiles back into textiles, these are really valuable resources and so (for example) there's a lot of cellulose used in the construction and the roading industries," Casey stated.
"Brands operating in New Zealand generate economic benefits and jobs. Taxes are paid by them in New Zealand. But, the sheer volume of these incredibly low-cost clothing imports from abroad has put them at a significant disadvantage in their race."
To address rapid fashion, the government has not said that it planned to introduce any legislation.
RNZ requested a statement from Environment Minister Penny Simonds, but she did not provide one./BGNES