BBP Climate week event at Swap Up

On Thursday 13th March, Ali was invited to speak on a panel at an event organised by Better Business Partnerships to discuss sustainability in fashion as part of their climate week agenda.

The event was held at Swap Up in Crows Nest, and Alifa the store owner and Afonso from NetNada were also commenting.

A great night was had by all, and we'd like to express our thanks to Amanda from BBP for asking for us to be involved. Here is a synopsis of Ali's comments.

How is shopping with Philosophy Australia an ethical, sustainable and slow fashion option?

We pride ourselves to be ethical in that we consider people and planet with every item we create; therefore, we have a very transparent supply chain and can name every pair of hands that touch the design from sketch to dispatch, which is done right here in Sydney.

We are a unique business in that way and know that our production model is sustainable as we have been producing in this manner for almost two decades. With every element taking place within Sydney our transportation footprint alone would be a rarity for any brand.

As a designer, I have chosen to create and produce with qualities of fabric specifically selected or developed for their endurance, performance, wearability and durability. My design motto is easy wear, easy care, wear anywhere style, meaning products must work with our busy lifestyles so that my customers can wear, love, wash and repeat often and can do so with confidence that the garment is going to last, and continue to make them feel fabulous when wearing.

I hear countless comments from customers that they have been wearing the same pair of bengaline pants (which are our signature style) for more than 10 years, and although that’s not ideal to our sales revenue it’s something we are proud of.

As a brand we consider slowing down fashion and being a voice for anti-fast fashion to be a core value and we will always shine the spotlight on local manufacture and the importance of buying Australian made.

Our sustainable and ethical practices are clearly stated on our website, but please reach out if you'd like to know more. I love chatting on this subject!

How do you see the role of fashion brands with responsibility for environmental factors?

As a fashion label, we obviously want customers to be purchasing new product, but we hope that they are using their purchasing power with consideration and we like to help to educate where we can on why buying slow, locally made product is better for them, and the environment, and even resale.

As a brand, I feel it’s important that we are always striving to excel and delight in product terms, but also always improving ways in which our garments are made, with greener considerations. Ultimately customers can only buy well, if the product is offered so it’s our responsibility to be pushing boundaries and offering better.

I recently had a meeting with the Red Cross and the discussion was around how the message of "buy better buy less, otherwise known as quality over quantity" needs to be more globally understood and how that ignoring this with cheap fast fashion purchasing in the last five years especially, has generated such an excess in landfill; as the products being donated to them have no resale value when the quality is ‘throwaway’ style and poor in general. So, I believe this messaging is a responsibility that all brands need to take on board to help educate and inspire public opinion and behaviour.

Have you got any new green initatives in the pipeline?

We are currently in collaboration with a mill and a boutique to launch a collection we have named Re-New; using fabric created from recycled water bottles. This will be launched in a few months, so stay tuned on our socials if you’d like to know more but personally, I am excited and can’t wait to hear customer feedback as I think it’s going to be loved!

Polyester is a really misunderstood fibre, and always gets a bad rep, (I think it’s from the 70’s versions) but technology has come a long way and now it’s a fibre we will champion for all those easy design criterias I have. Recently we have published a fabric guide on each of our signature cloths if you'd like to know more.

I know that you are members of Australian Fashion Council and Seamless, what can you tell us about that?

Both are organizations I feel it’s important to be involved with as we manufacturers; not just a wholesaler or retailer, and it’s about taking responsibility for what and how we produce and promote.

Seamless is a clothing stewardship, whose mission is to drive for circulatory Fashion by 2030. This will be a very steep hill to climb, but I felt it was a responsibility I wanted to take on and I am very happy to be an early adopter of the scheme, as ultimately I'd like for our brand to be seen as part of the solution rather the the problem.

What that means is that we pay a levy for every garment we produce and offer into the market now. The funds raised are then utilized to develop ways of becoming more circular, with all the R’s - reuse, repair, redefine etc and especially for increasing recycling options.

Mass and over production are key areas that Seamless are working towards improving. As a brand neither are an issue for us, as we predominantly produce to order (90%) and any excessive sampling we have is donated. Most recently to Thread Together.

If you'd like to know more, or join the conversation, please drop Ali an email.