Reducing textile waste

Clothing repairs

• Surf Coast Repair Café (Aireys Inlet) runs monthly events offering free basic repairs for a wide range of items such as clothing and textiles, and more.

Brand repair programs

• Get your gear repaired via Patagonia's Worn Wear program (in store Torquay and Geelong + mail-in option).
• Kuwaii offer a repairs service as well as their Re-Worn trade in program where you can receive a voucher for near new and well loved items.
• Nudie Jeans offer free repairs via repair shops, repair partners or via mobile service globally!

Shoe repairs

• Santoro Shoe Repairs
•  Town & Country Cobbler Shop Waurn Ponds
•  Mister Minit Westfield Geelong
• Shoe Express Geelong

Donate items in good condition to local op shops. Do not donate items that are heavily worn, stained or unwashed.

• Salvation Army Thrift Shop Torquay
• Brotherhood of St Laurence Torquay
• St Luke’s Op Shop Torquay
• Echo Thrift Torquay
• Bellbrae Uniting Church Op Shop
• Seaside seconds Op Shop Anglesea
• The Lorne Op Shop

Donate high quality work-appropriate clothing for women through Fitted for Work (Richmond) which supports migrant and refugee women moving into work.

For shoes with some life left visit The Running Company (Torquay and Geelong) who collect sports shoes and donate them to communities in the Northern Territory.

Find your closest tailoring or alterations service.

• Alterations Now Waurn Ponds
•  Crest Quality Dry Cleaners
•  Angie’s Clothing Alterations and Repairs Fyansford
•  Amir’s Alterations
•  Geelong affordable clothes alteration.

Women’s rentals

• The Luxe Closet – try on dresses in their Geelong West showroom.
•  Coastal Outfit Hire (COHA) – try on dresses in their Armstrong Creek showroom.
• Designer on Loan - try on dresses in their Geelong West showroom.
• Her Style Dress Hire - Geelong based (online).
• The Volte (online).
• Renting out your own clothes through Closet Drop (online).

Get new items in your rotation through subscription services such as Threadicated, Glam Corner or Melbourne-based Inro (with the option to purchase items to keep). 

Men’s rentals

• Suitor - Australia wide (online).
• Squire Shoppe - offers men’s fashion, suit and kilt hire in Geelong.

Wetsuit or triathlon suit rentals

• Many surf shops offer wetsuit rentals, such as Anglesea Surf Centre, Go Ride a Wave, Torquay Surf Academy. You can also rent triathlon suits with Orca (5 day rental period), pick up and return from Moorabbin.

Pay a small fee to purchase a bag or box for clothing recycling (mail in):

• RCYCL 'Recycle', 'Donation' and 'Repair' bags
•  Textile Recyclers Group 'Returnable Box'
• Upparel 

Brand-specific recycling programs

• Zara has a free textile collection program in select stores for all kinds of clothing and textiles in any condition (including shoes, linen, and accessories) (Melbourne).
• UNIQLO has a free in-store recycling program for its own branded clothing in any condition (Melbourne).
• H&M has a free recycling program (Melbourne).
• THE ICONIC allows you purchase a bag through their RE:THINK Program to either recycle unwearable clothes or donate unwanted but wearable clothes.

Underwear

• Project Down Under purchase a underwear only recycling satchel (mail in only)
• Underwear for Humanity (underwear and bras) will recycle other brands if you purchase their underwear first

• School uniforms: For schools with large quantities, contact Worn Up who recycle textile waste into new products such as school desks. Total Uniform Solutions also manufacture uniforms that are designed for disassembly to aid with recycling at end of life.
• Uniforms: Textile Recyclers Group offers uniform recycling for businesses.
• Corporate workwear: Loop Upcycling offers upcycling and recycling services solutions for corporate workwear.

• Recycle any brand of surf wetsuit at Ripcurl Torquay (in store and mail-in option).
• Recycle Need Essentials branded wetsuits at Need Essentials Torquay

• Shoes with some life left: Donate to The Running Company (Torquay and Geelong) who collect sports shoes and donate them to communities in the Northern Territory.
• Worn-out shoes: Recycle sports shoes, gumboots, leather school shoes and hiking boots through the Tread Lightly program (drop off at Rebel Sport, Athlete’s Foot, Macpac, Sports Power Colac, Intersport South Geelong and Drummond Golf Geelong).
• Old work boots: Recycle with Totally Workwear (Geelong)
• On: offer a running shoe monthly subscription service - use your shoes, request a new pair when they wear out, and they’ll recycle your old pair.

Linen and bedding

•  Sheridan Outlet Geelong accepts any brand of pre-loved quilt covers, sheets and towels for recycling (please wash items prior). Contact on 5224 1219 as the program is so popular they get full quickly!
• Book a collection via Upparel (for a fee)
• Look for brand specific recycling programs such as In the Sac (accept all brands) or GoKindly (GoKindly branded pillows and doonas only)
• Mechanics rags - check with your local mechanic to see if they accept old towels, clothing, sheets and other textiles.

Mattresses and bed bases

• If buying a new mattress look at which retailers will collect and recycle the old one (check via Australian Bedding Stewardship Council).
• Mattresses / bed bases can be taken to Surf Coast Shire Council Anglesea, Lorne and Winchelsea transfer stations for a small fee, where they are collected and deconstructed for recycling.
• You can also book a fixed price mattress removal with The Mattress Recycling Company who will collect and either clean, restore and redistribute or mechanically deconstruct and recycle.