Keynote speaker for this year\u2019s Ballarat Ethical Fashion Festival is VOGUE Australia\u2019s Sustainability Editor-at-Large, Clare Press.<\/p>\n
She was also appointed Global Ambassador for the Ellen MacArthur Foundation\u2019s Make Fashion Circular initiative in 2018 and will share her thoughts, research and involvement as a dedicated advocate for the circular economy and sustainable fashion with the Ballarat community.<\/p>\n
The fashion system as it currently stands is incredibly wasteful, Ms Press said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have doubled global clothing production in 15 years and the vast majority of those clothes end up in landfill,\u201d she said. \u201cThey might end up in the bin after being second or even third hand but most of them get chucked out when they are almost new.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn the context of fashion waste, we need to find a new way to keep clothing in use for longer and out of the transfer station.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ms Press said she wants to educate people about fashion not being disposable and is delighted that her first visit to Ballarat is to be part of the Ethical Fashion Festival.<\/p>\n
She uses her weekly Wardrobe Crisis<\/em> podcast to interview fashion savvy sustainability experts around the globe to spread circular fashion enterprises and programs.<\/p>\n There are new technical ways to make fashion more sustainable, fibres can be recycled, new-generation fabrics breakdown or can be regenerated and repurposed.<\/p>\n \u201cIronically some of the new ways are the old ways, like mending, looking after your clothes, passing them on or down or sharing them,\u201d Ms Press said. \u201cThe workshops at the festival are based around education and positivity, they show you how to take up these new skills, keep your clothes for more wears and have fun doing it.<\/p>\n \u201cFashion should be a way to communicate, enjoy and express ourselves.<\/p>\n \u201cPeople just want to feel good about what they are wearing and know their clothing hasn\u2019t damaged people or the planet during the production process.\u201d<\/p>\n Ms Press said she has seen a growth in people making their own clothes, especially among young people.<\/p>\n They are excited about learning new skills, they go to knitting and sewing classes and treat it as a social gathering.<\/p>\n She predicts a growth also in the fashion sharing economy.<\/p>\n \u201cI am convinced that clothing rental is going to be massive in the future, just like a collective shared wardrobe, I think it is a terrific idea,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t want people to stop buying clothes, I want them to think more carefully about what they buy and when across the board.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Keynote speaker for this year\u2019s Ballarat Ethical Fashion Festival is VOGUE Australia\u2019s Sustainability Editor-at-Large, Clare Press. She was also appointed Global Ambassador for the Ellen MacArthur Foundation\u2019s Make Fashion Circular initiative in 2018 and will share her thoughts, research and involvement as a dedicated advocate for the circular economy and sustainable fashion with the Ballarat […]<\/p>\n