Thanks
to Melbourne Girl I was able to attend Tailoring Tomorrow, an event jointly
hosted by Peppermint Magazine and Billy Blue College of Design the event
explored the future of sustainable fashion overseas and in Australia.
The
speakers for the night included eco designer Rachel Cassar, designers from ALAS
and SOSUME, sustainable fashion advocate Eloise Bishop, Simon McRae who is
national manager of Ethical Clothing Australia and strategic manager of TFIA’s Textile and Fashion hub Julia Haselhorst.
With
so many passionate speakers in the room it was hard not to become enthralled in
the debate surrounding sustainable fashion. Many issues were raised from the
textiles and materials used to the ethical labour and production when
constructing garments.
It
became prevalent that overseas countries have embraced sustainable fashion well
ahead of Australia with Topshop and H&M both experimenting with
sustainability through the reuse of waste fabric and ethically made/grown
fabrics.
Simon
McRae from Ethical Clothing Australia touched on what we are currently
doing to create an ethical fashion industry. Ethical Clothing Australia provides
textile, clothing and footwear businesses with practical resources to help
ensure compliance with relevant laws and regulations in Australia and offers a
method to communicate this to consumers and buyers.
A
sample of brands that have been accredited by Ethical Clothing Australia:
