RMIT University researcher Lisa Piller has helped develop a textile recycling pathway that transforms retired Western Australian Parks and Wildlife Service uniforms into new yarns and fashion garments, exploring opportunities to reuse technical textiles that might otherwise be discarded.
The project, part of Piller’s PhD research Walking in Circles, brings together industry and research partners to trial fibre-to-fibre recycling, combining recovered uniform fibres with cotton grown in Western Australia’s Kimberley region.
“These uniforms have spent years protecting the firefighters who work to safeguard Western Australia’s forests, parks and wildlife,” Piller said.
“Rather than ending their life in storage or landfill, we’ve been exploring how those fibres can be recovered, reprocessed and transformed into entirely new garments.”
Working with researchers at the ARC Research Hub for Future Fibres, Piller learned fibre-processing techniques including blending, carding and spinning to produce experimental yarns from the recovered materials.
The project also incorporates cotton from the first processing run of the Kimberley’s new cotton gin, which enables locally grown cotton to be processed in the region rather than transported thousands of kilometres interstate.
According to RMIT, the initiative demonstrates the potential for regional processing and value-adding while exploring ways to keep textile materials in circulation.
The resulting garments are intended to showcase how discarded textiles can be repurposed as resources, as the fashion industry continues to face challenges in managing textile waste.
Piller’s project is on display at Fremantle Design Week 2026.
