when?
Fri 19th February 2.30 pm – 4.00 pm
venue?
The Edge at Federation Square
hosted by?
A forum with Australia’s leading ethical and sustainable fashion experts including Cameron Neil, Emer Diveney, Sue Thomas, Grace McQuilten and Tiffany Treloar. Hosted by Kate Luckins (MA, sustainable fashion & founder of The Clothing Exchange). Following a very successful ethical fashion forum hosted by Alice Euphemia earlier in the year (with the audience flowing out the door!), this forum will address the broader issues of sustainable fashion from the perspective of industry, designers and consumers. This will be an opportunity for SLF patrons to ask all the questions about fair trade, sustainable textiles and design principles, while picking up some tangible tips to reduce their fashion footprints. This is a unique opportunity to put the darker side of fashion under the spotlight.
Cameron Neil is the Operations Manager for the Australian and New Zealand branches of Fairtrade. He has founded ‘otherWISE’ – a capacity-building program that educates young people about sustainable consumption. Cameron is a very well-informed and engaging speaker with many ideas about how the fashion industry can embrace sustainability and get the Fairtrade stamp of approval. http://www.fta.org.au/
Emer Diveney has a solid background both within the fashion industry and the corporate responsibility sector. She is the author of numerous research reports on the social and environmental impacts of the Australian fashion industry. Emer is the National Coordinator of Ethical Clothing Australia and is Chair of the RMIT Fashion Program Advisory Committee. She is a very passionate and excited speaker who can help the fashion industry get on a more ethical track. http://www.ethicalclothingaustralia.org.au/
Sue Thomas is a renowned sustainable fashion academic from RMIT University (The Fashion Department, Architecture and Design). She is currently completing her PhD in Sustainable Fashion Ethics and Buddhism while she teaches the RMIT fashion students. Sue’s witty commentary can often be heard on the radio as she is one of Australia’s sustainable fashion experts. She is a very entertaining presenter who is filled to the brim with ideas about sustainable fashion design and ethics. http://www.rmit.edu.au/
In 2009 Grace McQuilten founded the Social Studio, a not-for-profit organisation which facilitates education and employment pathways for the young refugee community in Melbourne. The Studio works with recyclable and excess materials gathered from local industry which are reworked into original design clothing. Grace’s interest in social enterprise developed after working in community development for several years, along with extensive research on the relationship between design, sustainability and social change. http://www.thesocialstudio.org/
Tiffany Treloar has been sewing since she was just 10 years old and she has been working in the fashion design industry throughout various incarnations of her own label. In recent times, she is working towards a complete synergy between her environmental values and her work. This journey has influenced her design process, studio footprint and material selections for her collection entitled PROJECT 332. Within her studio Tiffany is using design solutions to find better alternatives, seeking out the “right” information and is actively seeking to engage the fashion industry and fashion consumers in the education for sustainable development. http://www.tiffanytreloar.com.au/
Kate Luckins is the founder of The Clothing Exchange, a unique clothes swapping event that has inspired a swapping movement in Australia! She has a Masters of Fashion from RMIT University (on sustainable fashion consumption) and is currently finishing her PhD research into the sustainable lifestyles of young people. Kate is a sustainable consumption researcher who writes for Peppermint Magazine and is very keen to reconcile her environmental conscience with her love of fashion. http://www.clothingexchange.com.au
Sounds great!
Are you going?
Yep, I’ll be at this one 🙂 There is also a recylcled fashion class on afternoon of the Sunday 21st which I might head to as well.