Express who you are in a sustainable way - Ragtrader
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Express who you are
in a sustainable way
DTG printing
e-commerce fulfilment
print on demand
Powering our customers to take on
the world of ‘sustainable fashion’.
Email us at digital@kiwo.com.au
or call us on 03 8318 5555
www.kissel-wolf.com.au
www.kornit.com
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WWW.RAGTRADER.COM.AU SUSTAINABILITY JULY / AUGUST 2021 25
PIONEERS
Keen, green,
fashion machines.
These are the 10
leaders pioneering
solutions in the
fashion space.
The
G-10
PRESENTED BY
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26 JULY / AUGUST 2021 SUSTAINABILITY WWW.RAGTRADER.COM.AU
PIONEERS
our carbon mitigation
1 Lucy King
Kmart sustainable materials manager
Kmart is on a mission to make its apparel
strategy is an impor-
tant step to support
our transition. While
offering more eco-friendly. Helping to lead the purchase of off-
the charge is Lucy King, who is respon- sets and renewable
sible for leading the sustainable materials energy certifi ates
5
program – supporting the design, buy- will not distract us
ing, sourcing and marketing teams in the from true reduction
delivery of Kmart’s sustainable material efforts, they mark an
commitments including cotton, poly- important milestone
ester, cellulose, wool and timber. Since in GFG’s journey,”
beginning this mission, Kmart has intro- she said.
duced pieces including recycled active-
wear, a puffer jacket filled with 100%
recycled polyester made from reclaimed
materials, sneakers made from recycled
materials and organic cotton innerwear.
3GroupEloise Bishop
Country Road
& David
“Fabrications made with recycled materi- Jones head of sustainability heads up the division responsible for devel-
als help us to reduce our reliance on our Supporting Australian cotton farmers has oping and innovating the business’ prod-
planet's natural resources,” King said in been on the agenda for Country Road uct. In 2020, the business reported that
a Kmart Masterclass. “They also help us over the past few years. In 2020, the busi- it had reached its goal of 100% sustain-
divert textile waste, as well as plastic, from ness committed $600,000 to Landcare able cotton in its range. Kathmandu also
going to landfill,” she said. Australia, with the funds invested over recycled 8.2 million plastic bottles in 2020
1
three years towards biodiversity restora- through the use of Repreve recycled poly-
tion projects across Australian farmlands. ester. While it is proud of these achieve-
The first project will be implemented for ments, Rastogi said that the business is
third generation cotton farmers, the Kahl already looking at the next milestone.
family in the Namoi Valley, NSW – a “Reaching 100% sustainable cotton only
region significantly affected by biodiversity means we are 100% ‘less bad’. Now we
loss and in need of restoration. “As one of need to shift from reducing our impact to
Australia’s most iconic brands, we can har- doing good. The next challenge is to think
ness our role in the industry to assist local about what is beyond sustainability and
cotton farmers in protecting soil health, look at regenerative agriculture,” he said.
providing natural habitats for threatened
species and improving water quality across
river systems,” Bishop said of the project.
Going further to support the local cot-
ton industry, Country Road brought back
5GlamCorner
Audrey Khaing-Jones
and Dean Jones
co-founders
local manufacturing of its Heritage Sweat They’re the husband-and-wife duo domi-
from the 90s this year. The limited-edi- nating fashion rental in Australia. The
2sustainability
Jaana Quaintance-James
Global Fashion Group chief
officer
tion garment was brought to life through
a close collaboration between the brand,
Australian cotton farmers and Victorian
GlamCorner platform has gone from
strength-to-strength this year, expand-
ing its services to launch dedicated rental
It’s no coincidence that Jaana Quaintance- manufacturers. “It’s been really exciting to platforms for brands like Camilla, Spell
James has found herself on this list three see brands like Country Road come back and David Jones. Customers who order
times running. Now heading up Global to Australian Made and say, ‘we want to from these dedicated sites experience
Fashion Group’s sustainability department, support Australian industry’,” local manu- GlamCorner's click to rent journey, which
Quaintance-James has steered the business facturer Julian Collins said. sees GlamCorner fulfil, ship, receive back
to achieving carbon neutrality across its and clean the garments. "At GlamCorner
operations and outbound deliveries in the we want to revolutionise the way we con-
markets it operates. This includes the
use of 100% green energy in all nine
of its fulfilment centres in Australia
4product
Manu Rastogi
Kathmandu head of
innovation and
sume fashion through rental,” Khaing-
Jones said. “Our partnerships with retail-
ers allow consumers to enjoy beautifully
and New Zealand, Latin America, product sustainability designed and high-quality garments all
the Commonwealth of Independent While there are many things while being able to support the circular
States and Southeast Asia. While she Kathmandu can be recognised economy and help reduce fashion waste,”
was happy to announce the news to for – reaching carbon neutral- she said. Additionally, the business has
the market – on World Environment ity four years early or partner- also partnered with Witchery to bolster its
4
Day no less – Quaintance-James ing with The Renewal Project to workwear and essentials offering which has
said the business still has a way collaborate on a circular map- seen a 200% increase as COVID restric-
to go. “We recognise there is ping project – it is making tions ease. They land a spot on this year’s
much work ahead of us to greener garments which G-10 list because they’re making circular
reduce our footprint and has landed it on the list fashion not only accessible to consumers,
therefore formalising this year. Manu Rastogi but to retailers too.
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9
PIONEERS
“We have significantly reduced our elec-
6 John Condilis
Nobody Denim chairman
and co-founder
tricity use by installing solar panels across
our buildings and have met two of our
2025 packaging targets early,” she said.
“No matter what, the Nobody Denim
Signature Range will always be made in
Australia,” is a pledge that John Condilis
made to his customers and the wider fash-
ion industry upon relaunch of the Signature
8Michael Elias
Upparel founder and CEO
Upparel has stopped nearly two million gar-
Range this year. The investment will see ments from ending up in landfill through
Nobody Denim ensure the future of local its textile recycling programs. The business
manufacturing, as well as the maintenance began its mission with a sock recycling pro-
of jobs and skills in Australia. The relaunch gram in 2019, which rewarded consumers
also signalled a move to a more inclusive for sending their old socks to be upcycled,
offering too. “The relaunch of the Signature laundered and donated or transformed into
Range has seen us make our core product other garments such as beanies and t-shirts.
more inclusive with a wider range of sizes But it wasn’t stopping there, opening a fully
which we know is important, especially in recyclable bricks-and-mortar sustainability
denim,” Condilis said. Alongside the pledge hub at Westfield Southland in December
to support local jobs, Nobody Denim has 2020. The entire space was made from recy-
also demonstrated its commitment to fully clable materials and encouraged shoppers
traceable collections, releasing its second to take home a biodegradable satchel to fill
traceable collection into its David Jones with socks for recycling. But still, the busi-
concession in March this year. Not only ness was not going to call it a day there. This
does it give the business oversight of its sup- year, Upparel expanded beyond upcycled
ply chain, but also allows customers access socks and underwear, launching an upcy-
to this data. “The opportunity to further cled children's sofa. The sofa, dubbed Flip
educate shoppers on the importance of Up, is made in Melbourne from recycled
transparency in fashion was something we textiles and plastic bottles. And, in true
jumped on straight away,” Condilis said. Upparel style, once families are done with
their Flip Up, they can notify Upparel and
7 Erika Martin
Elk sustainability manager
it will be picked up from their home to be
reprocessed into the next product, keep-
ing the sofa out of landfill. "Everything we
10 Tui Taylor
incoming R.M. Williams GM
of supply chain and corporate
In its aim to be as transparent as possible, do today is for the benefit of the next gen- social responsibility
Elk has for three years released an annual eration, so it made sense that our very first There’s big things in-store for Tui Taylor
transparency report. Across key sustain- product was focused on the next genera- at R.M. Williams, following her six years
ability pillars including energy, packaging, tion,” Elias said of the Flip Up. at Icebreaker. At the outwear label, Taylor
materials and social initiatives, Elk high- spearheaded Icebreaker’s first-ever trans-
lights three key progress achievements parency report, disclosing the brand’s sup-
across each category. Key highlights from
this year’s report include the generation of
71MWh of clean, renewable solar power
9supplyMary Lou Ryan
Bassike co-founder and director of
chain and sustainability
ply chain, policies, structure and practices.
And R.M. Williams says a similar approach
is on the cards. “Ensuring our products are
on-site, 81% of all packaging and printed Carbon neutral runway shows at Afterpay crafted in an ethical and sustainable manner
items being made from recycled materials Australian Fashion Week (AAFW) is is integral to our values and business strat-
and 39% of the brand’s buy being made what’s landed Mary Lou Ryan in the G10 egy,” the brand said. “Our aim is to con-
up of preferred materials, up from 25% list this year. For both of its resort 22 and tinue building a purpose-led supply chain
in 2019. “The greatest progress was made winter 21 see-now-buy-now runway shows, that positively impacts communities in
within our own operations,” Martin said. the label assessed each element, working to which we produce and source from,” R.M.
8
offset the greenhouse gas emissions cre- Williams said. Taylor is one to watch! ■
ated. Forming part of the business’ larger
strategy to go carbon neutral, Ryan said
that the brand had to live its values on the
runway. “We are continually looking at all
areas of our business to ensure we make
responsible choices and do better within all
facets,” she said. “When activating events at
10
such a scale, it sits within our ethos to look
to reduce and offset the carbon footprint,”
she said. Additionally, the business is work-
ing with Forests Alive Tasmania and Brazil
Amazon Rainforest Project across forest
protection, implementation and conserva-
tion activities, scientific research and social
inclusion within communities.
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