CIRCULARITY WORKSHOPS ASK FASHION DESIGNERS TO STOP PRODUCTION
“Fashion plays an enormous role in everyone’s life whether you think you participate or not” says Alison Jose, Director of the Circular Centre.
“And since clothing is compulsory our choices today must also include whether to buy clothing that’s essentially either “bad” or “good”. Given our exponential awareness around the dire human and environmental impact caused by fast fashion, toxic materials, plastic microfibers and garment industry abuses, customers are increasingly frustrated and disempowered as the apparel industry moves at a glacial pace.”
Feeling this sense of urgency, Jose created a series of hands-on systems change workshops for the fashion and garment industry to help expedite a rapid transition to circular economy principles and give designers an ambitious goal to achieve net-zero carbon emission way before the hopeful 2050 target.
The CIRCULARITY Workshop +Sustainable Textile Sourcing Event is Australia's first series of one-day hands-on workshops designed to guide any garment maker to become an industry leader. It teaches how to implement circular systems to include using non-toxic fabrics, be waste-free, ethical, inclusive and carbon neutral.
In December 2018 the United Nations released a formal definition of “what is sustainable fashion” in its industry-specific Fashion Industry Charter for Climate Action. It asked designers to pledge a holistic commitment to climate action, therefore at the beginning of CIRCULARITY#1 participants will be asked to also sign and send their commitment to the UN.
CIRCULARITY#1 is a call-to-action to create much needed leaders in the fashion, school uniform, corporate clothing and work wear industries that are willing to deliver quickly on their commitments. The first one-day workshop is on Saturday 14th December at UTS EnergyLab Sydney.
“Most customers don’t know the intricate complications of multiple manufacturing supply chains plus with an increasing number of sustainable fashion events, it is still difficult to know what is just greenwashing and how to “shop your values” so our workshops also welcome anyone interested in fashion or just wanting to learn how a circular economy works,” says Jose.
The step-by-step series of workshops brings together industry experts to deliver solutions on navigating the challenges along production supply chains. Starting with Sarah Morse from Unchained she will present on the Modern Slavery Act and Kirsten Lee, Design Lecturer including the Sustainable Textiles for Masters at UNSW Art & Design plus one of the forces behind Fashion Revolution Australia.
Next is a “show and tell” by Jose whose wholesale textile business, STSC Sustainable Textile Supply Chain, has over 500+ sustainable fabrics. And in an industry first, makers can order as little as three metres from her range of biodegradable and ethical “good” fabrics. This includes the “wealth from waste” fabrics made from plant fibres such as banana, pineapple, nettle plus her GOTS organic peace silk and choose from over 300 samples by Austrian company Lenzing who make wood-pulp fabrics sourced from sustainable forests and made in a circular 99.8% closed loop.
Alison will showcase hundreds of ethical and sustainable textiles, talk about their makers and artisans, raw materials, biodiversity, recycled materials, textile design, eco-digital printing, eco-dyes and the social impacts our decisions make.
Participants can source from hundreds of sustainable textiles. Learn more about STSC's textiles.
CIRCULARITY’s “How-to” and Q&A session format means that participants can also dig-deep and ask questions directly to presenters such as fashion designer and Production Manager Diana Manzi of modetische, who has worked with many of Australia’s top fashion designers producing off-shore and Marcel Pandher of Belle Marc, who is one of the few Australian fashion manufacturers with his own garment factory in Marrickville.
CAPSULE COLLECTION LAUNCH Diana Manzi and her label by modetische using 100% ECOVERO™ single jersey knit plus designer Jody Head whose garments showcase her world-first pleats using eco-fabric Tencel™ Satin.
Jose and slow fashion advocate Susan Hansen from Meyd.IT will present the workshop’s Circular Waste session to finally close the loop. This will encourage initiatives that inspire mending, making, upcycling and swapping supporting local businesses with the shift to circularity.
Participants can create a clothing waste system utilising Jose’s Circular Centre Circular Textile Waste Service. Jose is currently working with innovators such as IKEA, General Pants and Mosman Council to use her service.
She provides a value chain of partnerships Australia-wide to capture, sort, dismantle and repurpose waste clothing and textiles many times over using significant technological developments to create high value products used in the auto, architectural, building and interiors industries.
Susan Hansen is the founder of MEYD.IT and is working with the Circular Centre’s clients IKEA and General Pants to create a DENIM RE-DESIGN PROJECT where we first capture used denim, and then working with designers, Susan re-designs them along with our local Disability Enterprises to re-create body inclusive garments including adaptive clothing that are re-sold both in-store and online with General Pants.
Susan’s background is in environmental scientist and technology with a strong interest in fashion inherited from her mother. Susan founded MEYD.IT to help conscious citizens connect with local makers who are making clothing more ethical and transparent.
Susan is a FashTech Founder making Slow Fashion convenient at scale, seamlessly connecting makers, wearers and suppliers. Meyd.it is redefining how fashion is made and consumed through technology and innovation with 3D AR Blockchain AI & IoT.
Essential to the UN’s commitments is carbon neutrality therefore Shreya Hegde from GreenFleet will guide participants in how to meet this goal and build businesses that reduce our carbon emissions, be zero waste and circular by design.
ECO-PACKAGING SOLUTIONS
Hannah Feringa will be presenting the product CARAPAC and brainstorm around industry specific plastic requirements for the fashion and apparel industry.
CARAPAC is producing fresh food packaging that is sustainably produced, durable to serve your packaging and transport needs and environmentally friendly. Made from crustacean shell waste, CARAPAC is completely home compostable at the end of life, making it the only packaging option that is not just waste neutral, but actually waste-negative.
Integrating the day, participants will finally participate in a special Circular Systems Change Workshop designed by Jenni Philippe from Design Thinking In Action. Jenni leads participants to redesign using circular design principles, put in place actionable commitments and expedite a fast pivot to circular economy practices.
Jenni delivers workshops that shape a new business paradigm. Collaboration, systemic approach, ethical considerations and human-led innovation are at the core. Jenni has over 12 years of experience in strategy, design thinking and program implementation across a wide range of industries in both private and public organisations.
STRATEGY. How do circular principles apply to your business and design models? Are there different or better ways to meet user needs by applying circular strategies?
In this workshop, you will redesign fashion items by reflecting on the functional and emotional needs that it serves. Using circular strategies you will create new solutions that are better for people and planet. You will familiarise yourself with circular economy principles and business models.
FREE Q&A SESSION WITH CELINE MASSA, ETHICAL CONSULTING SERVICE
Following the event, participants will be sent a Q&A link to Celine Massa, a consultant, researcher and writer who worked for Good On You for four years.
Now with her own Ethical Consulting Service Celine’s expertise is guiding Australian designers to isolate parts of their supply chains that require specific steps to meet their ethical, sustainable and circular goals, how to implement key recommendations, meet industry standards and work to achieve climate action commitments and become an industry leader.
CIRCULARITY #1 WORKSHOP + SUSTAINABLE TEXTILE SOURCING EVENT. SATURDAY 14TH DECEMBER 2019. Start 9am.
LOCATION. EnergyLab Sydney, UTS Bldg 25, 4-12 Buckland Street, Chippendale
Tickets HUMANITIX $70 students, $110 Emerging Designers, $210 Businesses www.circularcentre.com.au
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION. Contact Alison Jose. M. 0414 289 778. info@circularcentre.com.au