Fashion industry
Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) (09:53): This month I was very pleased to launch the Reason Party’s campaign to promote Victoria’s fantastic, magnificent fashion industry. It is internationally recognised, and it is a cultural and economic gem of Victoria. We are also using this campaign to highlight the appalling, unsustainable textile waste in Australia. We launched with a panel discussion with local designers and stylists.
It is called F*** Fast Fashion: buy local, buy ethical, buy less. We will be running this over the coming months with a whole range of themed events. To get Parliament into the spirit of this and to support this industry that is a crucial local generator of jobs and creativity, we are planning a pollies fashion parade, so I will be in touch soon with you all. As someone in my office said, ‘No, that is not an oxymoron’: pollies and fashion.
We have got a lot to fix. 780 000 tonnes of waste are sent into landfill in Australia every year, making us the world’s second-highest consumer of textiles per person. Fast fashion, often profiteering from the exploitation of women in developing economies, is the main culprit.
The aim is to encourage people to support local designers by shopping locally and to consider the ethical and environmental ramifications of choosing fast fashion. I am sure it is something with which we can all get on board.