Delve into the world of sustainable fashion at our EcoChic workshop on Saturday 2 March at Hawthorn Arts Centre.
This workshop is proudly part of the PayPal Melbourne Fashion Festival’s Independent Programme.
Fashion expert and consultant, Sue Maree, and Melbourne textile artist Rachel Wood, will take you behind the 'seams' and share how you can:
- build a sustainable wardrobe
- uncover your unique style and colour palette
- learn about the quality fabrics that are better for us and the environment
- shop more sustainably
- master your alterations and basic mending to extend the life of your clothes
- make your own upcycled tote bag.
For more information and to register, visit the event listing below.
Shifting to sustainable fashion
In 2023, a report by the Australian Fashion Council found that, on average, Australians buy 56 new items of clothing a year, and more than 220,000 tonnes of clothing end up in landfill.
In fashion, 'circular economy' refers to the practice of:
- reducing and decluttering your wardrobe
- re-wearing clothes instead of wearing just once
- repairing instead of buying new garments
- reselling and buying pre-loved clothes and items from retail stores, markets or verified online market platforms
- recycling and upcycling end-of-life clothing to keep them out of landfill.
Buy second-hand or sell, swap and donate items
There are many places to sell, share, swap or donate items instead of buying new ones or sending your unwanted items to landfill.
Visit our Reduce and recycle your waste page for a full list of places to buy, swap, sell or donate items.
Sustainable living workshop and events
In addition to EcoChic, we host a number of sustainable workshops events throughout the year which focus on fashion and textiles.
To get updates about sustainability workshops, events, programs, services and resources, visit our Sustainable living workshops and events page or sign up to our Living for our Future newsletter.
Climate Action Plan
A circular economy is one of the key themes in our Climate Action Plan.
Adapting our approach to managing materials like clothing and textiles will also help reach the ‘community targets’ outlined in our Climate Action Plan. Find out more on our Climate Action Plan page.