Following the development of the Clothing Reuse Export Accreditation Scheme in 2022 and launch in early 2023, Charitable Recycling Australia is pleased to announce the implementation of a 3-year development plan to further raise the standards and requirements of the scheme and its associated documentation, systems and procedures.
This follows a period of extensive consultation with members, commercial exporters, the Australian Government and other industry bodies.
The immediate Year 1 improvements for 2024 include:
- Tighter evidence requirements and response time
- Site audits of domestic activities
- Clearer definitions of key requirements
- Clearer definitions of materials and usage
- Greater inclusion of social elements
- Updated documentation and records
2025 improvements include:
- Overseas site audits and Foreign End Market Verification
- Extensive supply chain transparency and improvement of end-market traceability
- Greater mitigation of risks of unusable clothing entering any of the downstream supply chain
- Enhanced verification of documentation
2026 improvements include:
- Increase in the frequency of reporting and evidence requirements
- Further grow downstream traceability and accountability of second-hand textiles
- Enhanced verification of material outcomes
All of this is designed to provide confidence and assurance to Australian consumers and Government that Australian charities and their commercial export partners are accountable under a robust accreditation scheme underpinning a responsible environmental, social and economic trade and impact.
The updated Scheme Checklist, Handbook and Application Form effective April 2024 are now available at the links below. In the first instance, eligible applicants are asked to first complete and return the Application Form which includes a cost-recovery model for the application assessment and processing in 2024.
Background and Prior Scheme Rounds
Charitable Recycling Australia established a credible, realistic and practical accreditation process in 2023 to provide a standard for the export of second-hand clothing for reuse.
Charities receive 100,000 tonnes of donated garments in wearable condition every year that Australian consumers won’t buy even when they are discounted to $1 each. These wearable garments are exported overseas to be reused in their original form by lower income consumers. The reuse export trade creates millions of jobs in wholesale, retail and repair; mainly for women; aiding poverty reduction and gender equality.
Due to fast fashion consumer preferences generating excess textiles, and the lack of scalable domestic recycling or remanufacturing in Australia, means reuse exports are an important social, environmental and economic activator helping the environment and those in need.
The Clothing Reuse Export Accreditation Scheme provides confidence to government, stakeholders and consumers that the clothes being donated to charities are being managed in a responsible way. This means that where donated clothes are being exported or provided to a third party, that it is done in an environmentally and socially appropriate manner, and that there are objective checks and balances to show that.
Charitable Recycling Australia wants to help guarantee that charities and their commercial exporters have appropriate processes and agreements in place to ensure the quality and performance of the off-take agreements which exist for wearable clothing donations in export markets.
To facilitate this quality assurance, Charitable Recycling Australia has developed a reuse accreditation scheme for charities that directly or indirectly export second hand clothing. Accreditation is intended to be achieved by meeting and committing to specific procedures which are outlined in the Scheme handbook.
The handbook provides participants and prospective participants with the relevant resources and information to become and remain accredited under the Clothing Reuse Export Accreditation Scheme.
The purpose of the Scheme is to:
- Accredit and assure charitable recyclers export activities
- Accredit individual organisations to an agreed standard
- Not seek to validate a supply chain and final destination
- Be easily understood and implemented by participants of the scheme
The Scheme is designed to raise accountability and standards:
- The Scheme is in its second stage of development, with added evidence requirements and site audits added in 2024 and will continue to grow over the 3-year development plan.
- Scheme participants are committing to providing evidence and being accountable on their clothing exports
- The Scheme tests the environmental and social management of clothes that are being donated for reuse
The process of accreditation is:
- Via an application that requires parties to comply with set requirements to be accredited and remain accredited under the scheme, through:
- Signed document of understanding between Charitable Recycling Australia and the service provider
- Completion of relevant checklist
- Completion of domestic site audit in 2024
- Transparency regarding export practices
- Sharing of relevant documents during audit activities
2023 Accredited Members and Supporters
The following list of Charitable Recycling Australia members and their commercial exporters that have been accredited in the first two rounds of the Scheme in 2023:
Accredited Members:
- Alinea (ParaQuad Industries and Paravin)
- Cancer Wellness Support
- Good Sammy Enterprises
- Launceston City Mission
- Lifeline Direct
- Lifeline Retail Queensland
- Lifeline Tasmania
- Navarro Enterprises
- Neighbours Aid
- Red Cross
- Salvos Stores
- St Vincent De Paul Society NSW
- St Vincent De Paul Society QLD
- St Vincent De Paul Society Victoria
Accredited Supporters:
- Allround Recycling/reUP
- King Cotton Australia/UTurn Reuse
- Navarro Enterprises
- One Ten Enterprises
- Rais Industries
- Recycle Care Australia
- SAP Impex
- SCR Group
- Statewide Cleaning Cloths Australia
Nick Harford of Harford Consulting has been engaged to assist Charitable Recycling Australia’s members and supporters with their applications.
For more information please contact:
Nick Harford
Harford Consulting
nick@harfco.com.au
0419 993 234