Not-for-profit organisation Ethical Clothing Australia will host a panel in the middle of Australian Fashion Week 2024.
Titled ‘Is there sustainable fashion without ethics?’, the panel will be held on Thursday, May 16 at the University of Technology Sydney and is in collaboration with The Centre of Excellence in Sustainable Fashion + Textiles - a partnership between UTS and TAFE NSW.
The panel will centre on the rights of garment workers in the textile, clothing and footwear industry, and includes UTS/Centre of Excellence in Sustainable Fashion & Textiles associate professor Dr Timo Risannen, Citizen Wolf production lead Aldona Brangwin, CFMEU Manufacturing Division national secretary of textile, clothing and footwear Jenny Kruschel, and James Dunlop from Be Slavery Free.
The panel will be moderated by Ethical Clothing Australia national manager Rachel Reilly.
“Too many of the current conversations about fashion revolve around sustainable materials or processes and that has completely overshadowed the experiences and rights of garment workers,” Reilly said.
“The most sustainable garment is not sustainable at all if it still relies on the exploitation of a garment worker for any part of its production.
“That’s why we need to have realistic conversations about the state of the industry and take actionable steps to protect garment workers in all supply chains.”
Reilly said these conversations are crucial right now.
“The industry will not achieve the intended outcomes around sustainability while it continues to ignore the social and economic rights of the people who make our clothes," she said.
Launched over two decades ago, Ethical Clothing Australia is an accreditation body that works with businesses to protect and uphold the social rights and working conditions of garment workers in the local supply chain.