Working with individuals and businesses to encourage more sustainable habits around clothing and fashion.
As a sustainabilty consultant, I work with individuals and businesses to educate and inspire them to change the way they acquire goods and fashion, with a focus on the following:
- Promoting the reuse, refurbishment, and recycling of goods, particularly clothing.
- Develop closed-loop systems for materials and products
- Promote upcycling, recycling, and ethical sourcing of clothing
- Advise on sustainable materials and production methods
- Educating brands and consumers on sustainable fashion practices
The role of a sustainability consultant.
With a growing global appetite for consumerism, coupled with the astonishing rise of fast fashion, never before has sustainable clothing choices been more important.
Emitting around 1.2 billion tonnes of CO2 equivalent per year, the fashion industry emits more than international flights and maritime shipping combined. More worryingly, if the trend of fast fashion continues, the industry’s greenhouse gas emissions could increase by more than 50% by 2030. Frankly, considering the fragility of our environment, this is unacceptable and unsustainable.
In my role as a sustainability consultant, I aim to encourage individuals and businesses to make change toward more sustainable practices. With a passion for clothes upcycling and reducing our drive for consumerism, I offer fun, interactive workshops that aim to inform and shift how we look at fashion, clothing and consumerism.
Sometimes known as an eco-advisor, as a sustainabiltiy consultant, I provide expert advice on how to incorporate environmentally friendly practices into everyday life and business operations.
I work with clients in the short and long term to develop strategies that minimise environmental footprints and change their habits, with a focus on reducing waste, conserving resources, and promoting sustainable consumption.
In the fashion industry, this role extends to guiding the creation, use, and disposal of clothing and accessories in a way that supports environmental and social well-being. This includes promoting upcycling and recycling as key methods to achieve a more sustainable clothing ecosystem.
Changing how we think about fashion and clothing.
Upcycling involves transforming old or discarded items into new, higher-quality products. In fashion, this means taking worn-out or outdated clothing and reimagining them into something that’s more usable.
As a sustainability consultants, I can assist in the following ways:
- Working with fashion designers: I assist designers to market their products and educate consumers on their environmental and sustainability practices.
- Creative solutions: My workshops highlight innovative and creative ideas about how we can transforming old garments into new fashion items, helping to reduce the need for new resources and decrease waste.
- Promoting local artisans and small businesses: Encourage collaboration between artisans and small businesses who specialise in upcycling and sustainable fashion with the goal of fostering a community-focused approach to clothing sustainability.
- Raising awareness: Through collaboration and education programs, I work with businesses and Government agencies to raise awarness of the iimportance of recycling fashion and to encourage more sustainable consumption patterns.
The role of a sustainability consultant
The impact of a sustainability consultant in the fashion industry can be profound. By promoting upcycling and recycling, we help to reduce the environmental footprint of consumers and businesses with the ultimate goal of :
- Reducing waste: Upcycling and recycling diverts textiles from landfills, decreasing the overall amount of waste produced.
- Resource conservation: By reusing materials, the demand for new resources, such as water and raw materials, is significantly reduced.
- Lowering carbon emissions: Sustainable practices often involve less energy-intensive processes, resulting in lower carbon emissions.
The role of a sustainability consultant can be crucial in steering the fashion industry towards a more sustainable future.
Through informative and interactive workshops, I help consumers to adopt practices that are not only environmentally friendly but also economically beneficial, forstering creativity, raising awareness and supporting local business.
FURTHER READING
- Caring for your clothes is not just about dollars and cents »
- Learning to sew and alter clothes is an invaluable skill to have »
- The benefits of sewing, mending and making your own clothes »
- Clothes upcycling and encouraging a circular economy »
- Why sustainable fashion is more important than ever »
- Why are op shops and charity shops in Australia so expensive?