Australian Govt Needs To Get Serious About Stopping Climate Change And Plastic Pollution

Australian Govt Needs To Get Serious About Stopping Climate Change And Plastic Pollution

How many reading this blog can remember the Dollar Bill campaign to bring in digital currency in Australia and still sing the song? I can. That’s how powerful it was for consumer education about the enormous change about to happen for Autralia. The change of money from antiquated set up of pounds, shillings and pence to the simple digital set-up. And how consumers and corporations needed to take the required actions to make the switch because much needed to happen at all levels.

Australia is now facing more enormous change which is not actually the result of Government policy as was the switch to digital currency. The enormous change is how people, corporations et al live our daily lives doing things that will continue to harm the environment and will not enable the achievement of net zero by 2050. The actions that need to stop voluntarily or be legislated by the Government to stop.

In addition to all else that needs to happen to make behavioural changes, a major awareness and action campaign by the Government is critical. A la Dollar Bill, Norm and Life-Be-In and all the rest. That needs to start NOW in addition to the other actions which all reports call out need to be accelerated.

In addition to the regular IPCC reports informing and calling for action, just in the last few days have been these:

• report issued 10 July 2023 by the UN The Sustainable Development Goals Report 2023: Special Edition presenting a candid assessment of the SDGs based on the latest data and estimates. The Report is a power call for action for nations to accelerate progress towards the SDGs and implement a rescue plan for people and the planet. How more powerful can the call be than this from the Secretary-General of the United Nations Antonio Guterres: “Unless we act now, the 2030 Agenda will become an epitaph for a world that might have been.”
• a report issued 12 July 2023 How To Make Net Zero Happen, a collaboration of lofty University leaders, reiterates that Australia needs to accelerate its actions to eradicate fossil fuels and save the planet. As succinctly put by one of the leading authors of the report, Emeritus Professor Robin Batterham: “Our priority should be to plan well, get on with it, and adapt to the lessons we learn.”

The Australian Government stakeholder is seriously behind in its role to get planet-saving projects going. I have written more on this with an article due out in Pearls&Irritations in the next few days – I will keep you advised.

Most reading this blog would likely agree that ending fossil fuel mining and gas fracking in Australia is unarguable and this blog leaves that subject for another day.

On the topic of what the Australian Government has to start doing now by legislation is urgent transformation of the Australian fashion industry (reports referred to above talk about ‘accelerating’ actions. Not applicable here because actions haven’t event started!)

It has long been documented that the fashion industry is one of the largest polluting industries in the world and that its activities have a devastating impact on climate change:

• use of textiles made with fossil fuels which are plastics – polyester, polyurethane, PVC – and also shed microplastics into the environment
• use of toxic dyes in materials and fashion pieces
• heavy water consumption
• transportation for online shipping order contributes hugely to annual GHG emissions
• waste with an estimate of 85% of textiles going to landfill each year

In June 2023 the Australian Fashion Council (AFC) established the National Clothing Product Stewardship Scheme (NCPSS) – aka Seamless – giving itself a 12 months transition phase to be working. So far 6 businesses have signed up: Big W, David Jones, Lorna Jane, Rip Curl, R.M. Williams and The Iconic.The AFC proclaims that Seamless ‘will change the way Australians make, consume, and recycle their clothes’.

The level of confidence I personally have in the Seamless program having implemented by June 2024 the codes/standards/whatever being akin to legislation that regulates the fashion industry in required dimensions is close to zero.

With all due deference to their early sign-up to Seamless some of those 6 appear not to understand what is required of their own internal Sustainability Policies let alone what needs to be done for the nation and the planet. Here are 2 examples:

• David Jones has a few Sustainability Policies including a Harmful Substances Policy with the objective of eliminating harmful substances from its supply chain. One priority substance identified for elimination from the supply chain is ‘phthalates‘. A very good objective – however it doesn’t actually translate to products on offer. David Jones proudly offers the products of Canadian brand Matt&Nat including this product which is made with ‘100%PVC’. That is, polyvinylchlorine (PVC) – described by Greenpeace as ‘the single most environmentally damaging type of plastic’. Not only that – but PVC usually contains the ingredient ‘phalates’ which suggests that David Jones is not even implementing its own Harmful Substances Policy. And there are questions whether David Jones actually knows anything about Matt&Nat or is simply re-gurgitating that brand’s statements about its sustainability?
• The Iconic has a Sustainability Policy with its impressive goals and targets. It has a distinct ‘hero’ sustainable path with its initiative of Considered Edit. A brand included in this category is a Matt&Nat bag made in s in ‘100% recycled polyvinyl’. That material is polyvinylchlorine (PVC) – described by Greenpeace as ‘the single most environmentally damaging type of plastic’. How is that product included in Considered and how does it meet the criterion that ‘The main material of this product is made with at least 50% of materials that have a lower environmental impact compared to their conventional alternatives.’?

How many times does the Australia Government need to be told that the fashion industry needs urgent transformative action because of the known harms it causes to people and planet?

In closing, words of the Secretary-General of the United Nations Antonio Guterres could not be more apt: “Unless we act now, the 2030 Agenda will become an epitaph for a world that might have been.”