Citizen Wolf co-founder Zoltan Csaki reveals how the brand is gearing up for a 'Made in Australia' future.
It’s been a big few weeks for the few of us still making things here in Australia.
First, Senator David Pocock called on the government to overhaul procurement policy to favour smaller, local businesses. Then days later, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese released his vision to revive and fortify local manufacturing with his ‘Future Made in Australia Act’. When enacted, these changes will foster a new era of local, sustainable, and advanced manufacturing not protected by tariffs, but instead defined by competitive advantage.
One of the leaders in this space is Citizen Wolf, a Sydney-based pioneer in advanced garment manufacturing, which is scaling into the uniforms sector to take advantage of this brave new world.
In Albanese's future vision, Australia needs to be more than “a raw materials supermarket". Indeed, we grow some of the world's finest cotton and merino wool, yet sadly, these crops are sent offshore for yarn processing. This is a perfect example of what could change by reshoring industrial capability and adding value through advanced manufacturing.
We all know that ‘advanced’ is not normally a label applied to garment manufacturing, which hasn’t changed all that much since the first Industrial Revolution 250 years ago. By yanking garment manufacturing into the 21st century, Citizen Wolf is creating the blueprint for a data-driven manufacturing model that creates circular, custom-fit clothing onshore using Magic Fit, our proprietary AI-driven digital tailoring technology.
Some call it the fourth Industrial Revolution. We call it “unf*cking the fashion industry” and our mission is to make mass-production obsolete in order to save our planet. Because we cannot solve the climate crisis without first changing the incredibly destructive fashion industry.
Citizen Wolf has spent the last eight years perfecting our tech stack and zero waste factory to create 48% less carbon per piece compared to their mass-produced equivalents. Every garment made in our Sydney factory is a testament to the default-sustainable future our industry desperately needs: zero overproduction and end of life recycling, combined with personalised fit.
The simple truth is that ‘Made in Australia’ cannot compete with low-cost goods made offshore under spurious ethical conditions. And nor should we. Instead, Australia’s opportunity is to create a default sustainable, data-driven advanced manufacturing model that is better for people and planet. And in a world of increasing tensions and global shocks, investing in sovereign capability is also prudent insurance.
Citizen Wolf has done it in consumer fashion, and now we’re offering it to corporations and governments at scale with uniforms. Over 50% of Australian workers wear a uniform – that’s over 7.5 million people every day – yet most are made in limited sizes that fail 81% of people, largely made from polyester blends almost impossible to recycle. The lose-lose result is an apathetic workforce that feels undervalued on top of a tsunami of landfill that’s destroying our planet.
Here, Citizen Wolf’s proprietary technology shines brightly because our factory is set up for single-piece production, and our technology drives the marginal cost of tailoring to zero. This creates three profound advantages in our uniforms offering.
Firstly, staff love us because they get a uniform that fits properly regardless of size, shape or gender. Secondly, CFOs love our MOQ (minimum order quantity) of one, which reduces their inventory risk to zero and preserves cash flow. And finally, mother nature loves that our model is a beacon of sustainability.
Unlike the traditional linear 'take, make, waste' model, Citizen Wolf operates a 100% circular system. Our pre-consumer offcut scrap is combined with our end-of-life take back scheme to create recycled yarns from which we knit new fabrics. We can achieve this because since Day 1 we’ve had a natural fibres only policy.
We also proudly collaborate with one of Australia’s last knitting mills in Melbourne to create the shortest supply chain possible. Over 86% of our fabrics are knitted locally and this relationship not only secures a supply of exceptionally high-quality fabrics, but also maintains crucial industrial skills and jobs onshore.
The economic implications of an almost entirely onshore supply chain are also profound as money that would otherwise be sent offshore instead recirculates in the Australian economy, generating a ripple effect that ultimately benefits the entire nation.
The alignment with government initiatives like those proposed by Albanese and advocated by Senator Pocock reinforces the position we’ve always advocated for at Citizen Wolf. These policies do not merely open doors; they encourage a seismic shift in how uniforms – and indeed, all clothing – are produced and valued.