Mum sums up what we’re all thinking today

A fed up Aussie mum has lashed out at an annual Australian tradition, claiming it actually does more harm than good.

OPINION

It’s that special time of year again, when Australian parents find themselves collectively scrambling to find an orange T-shirt for their kid to wear to school for Harmony Day.

Because nothing champions diversity like making everybody dress the same.

On March 21 each year, this tokenistic celebration of cultural heterogeneity sweeps across Australian workplaces and schools to coincide with the United Nations International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.

At some point (rather than taking any real action against racism), somebody in the government came up with the genius idea to encourage everyone to simply wear orange. This would promote social cohesion, mutual respect and a sense of inclusion … unless, of course, your parents missed the memo among the ever-growing list of school requirements, and then “Everyone Belongs” – except for you.

With little notice and limited options, a frantic late-night dash to Kmart usually ensues.

Aussie mum Carly Sophia says it's time to ditch the Harmony Day tradition.

We’re all over the last-minute Kmart dash.

Nobody wants their child to feel left out, so at this point, anything even remotely orange will do. Never mind the fact that they will probably never wear it again, since orange isn’t the most popular colour among kids and it’s unlikely to fit them this time next year anyway.

It’s also worth mentioning that the production of one single T-shirt uses 2700 litres of water. So what then becomes of this cheap orange shirt, that could have supplied someone with clean drinking water for almost two and a half years?

Well, landfill.

It’s estimated that about 92 million tonnes of garment waste is generated each year.

Every second, the equivalent of one bin lorry full of discarded clothing is dumped or burnt, with the average person wearing something only seven to 10 times before throwing it away.

This rampant overconsumption means that the textile industry is now responsible for 8-10 per cent of the world’s carbon dioxide emissions – which is more than the international aviation and maritime shipping industries combined.

Somebody in the government came up with the genius idea to encourage everyone to simply wear orange on Harmony Day. Picture: iStock

Most cheap fast-fashion items are made from synthetic materials, which also never really decompose. Throughout its life cycle, that one single T-shirt will shed about 1900 fibres every wash, contributing to the half a million tonnes of microfibres that are released into our oceans each year.

A 2022 study by the European Environment Agency suggested that up to 65 per cent of aerial microplastics may be emitted during the drying and wearing of clothing. A 2025 study also showed that the human brain contained up to one teaspoon’s worth of tiny plastic shards.

Gosh, I wonder how they got there?

Make sure you remember to take your reusable bag on your late-night orange shirt dash, though, won’t you? Because the same government that’s pushing you to support fast fashion actually banned single-use plastics a few years ago.

Finally, consumer culture fuels modern slavery and human trafficking, with exploitation present at almost every point of the fast fashion supply chain. An estimated 50 million people are presently enslaved worldwide and a disproportionate amount of them are women, children and migrants.

Harmony Day celebrations. Picture: Kevin Farmer

The International Labour Organisation (ILO) estimates that one in 10 children worldwide are engaged in child labour, many of them within garment factories. But with many fast fashion brands outsourcing production to suppliers that subcontract to smaller, unregulated factories, we’re left with a lack of transparency that makes it difficult to hold brands accountable.

In 2011, research released under Freedom of Information laws revealed some uncomfortable truths about Australians’ perceptions of (and attitudes towards) racism.

The same research also cautioned the government not to use “anti-racism” in its messaging, though, for fear it would create a divide.

You’re not going to hear any parents complaining they’ve got one less thing to do, are you? Picture: iStock

So Harmony Day it is. A happy little cross-cultural parade wrapped up in an orange bow.

While we might not be able to hold the fast fashion industry or the government accountable (I asked them for a comment and they said no) one thing we can do is hold ourselves accountable.

We can choose to boycott the colour code, that’s nothing more than a superficial, white washed Band-Aid for a very real and widespread problem.

And let’s face it. You’re not going to hear any parents complaining they’ve got one less thing to do, are you?

Carly Sophia is a freelance writer living in Sydney with her six year old twins, three rescue dogs, five emotional support chickens and a rabbit named Audrey Hopburn. She is currently working on her first book. You can connect with her on social media here.

Originally published as Mum sums up what we’re all thinking today