A national first is about to change the face of Australian eco-fashion.
Eco-fashion label Audrey Blue has confirmed the launch of 'The Suit Project', the first women's business suits made through a certified fair trade supply chain.
Showcased for the first time at the recent Canberra FashFest fashion event, The Suit Project is a collaboration between Audrey Blue and the fairtrade production house Jacobs Well in Bangalore, India.
Commenting on the push behind creating The Suit Project, Audrey Blue founder Hannah Parris said it was a response to a “feeling of disillusionment” about the ethics lacking in garment production.
“Australians are becoming increasingly aware of the horrific impacts of the global fashion industry'''s exploitative practices – for example the tragic collapse in April 2013 of the textile factory in Bangladesh that left 1,127 dead and many injured.
“The Suit Project is our response to that feeling of disillusionment with unethical mass production techniques,” she said.
“Jacobs Well was established in 1994 to provide meaningful employment to women in the improverished parts of Bangalore. It is certified under the World Fairtrade Trade Organisation (WFTO)”
At Audrey Blue we like to forge new pathways in the industry, so we decided to develop a range that met the needs of professional women who want to source ethical options for her working wardrobe – an area that is under represented in other labels”.
The Suit Project also follows the 2013 release by Audrey Blue of the world's first certified organic and fairtrade ladies business shirts.
“This is just the beginning,” Parris said.
“Currently the FashFest collection is simply a fairtrade product – meaning that it was made by a fairtrade production house. The lining of the suits was made using certified organic cotton from a fairtrade textiles house, Mehera Shaw from Jaipur.
“But we don't think this is good enough. As we work towards full production of the collection, Audrey Blue will incorporate the use of organic wool into the suits. Organic wool is so rare, and requires such high levels of investments, we were, unfortunately, unable to source suitable material for the sampling – but we are working to over come this in the production phase”.
“Reinventing the way an industry works can be challenging. But Audrey Blue's The Suit Project shows that it can be done”