Parliament House, Sydney, NSW. 14 February 2025.
… Key insights from Better Packaging's Kate Bezar
The Summit began with the acknowledgement that we are in very trying times, or what Rosanna Iacono of The Growth Activists termed a ‘poly crisis’. We’re up against a strong anti-woke agenda, a cost of living crisis, biased media and the rise (and rise) of fast fashion. However, as Jaana Quaintance-James, CEO of the Australian Fashion Council reiterated, it’s never been more important to stay the course. This is especially true given the fashion industry still accounts for 5-10% of global carbon emissions and modern slavery and organised crime are prevalent at record levels.
Rosanna Iacono of The Growth Activists is joined by Ainsley Simpson, CEO of Seamless and Jaana Quaintance-James, CEO of the Australian Fashion Council
In such trying times we need to:
Hold onto the moral obligation but build the business case!
- Reframe sustainability from a cost to an investment. Building sustainable business practices and supply chains is an economic imperative for long term viability and prosperity. It is also a key factor in building resilience to risk
- The G in ESG is crucial. Strong Governance will serve to act as a safeguard for sustainability commitments. Support for sustainability must be at board level as well as C-suite and ideally is 'baked into' the medium-to-long term company mission
- Maintain optimism and draw energy from the community
We need to remember that sustainability is a journey and as such we need to value progress over perfection:
“We can’t be paralysed by the need for perfection”.
Ainsley Simpson, CEO of Seamless
Be ok with making mistakes, sharing them and learning from them.
Authenticity was lauded as a key value – the need to be open about where you’ve still got work to do, as well as celebrating positive progress. Share your providence stories – increasingly people are wanting to know who and where their garments (and packaging for that matter) are made by. Young people also want to work for authentic, values-aligned businesses – their attraction and retention can become part of the business case for sustainability.
The Summit included introductions to these fantastic innovations
- Newera Bio – low carbon, high performance, natural clothing dyes
- Dempstah – textile recycling
- Alt. Leather – plant-based leather
- NatureHelm - biodiversity intelligence platform
- Circular Sourcing – a platform for buying and selling deadstock materials
- Full Circle Fibres - sustainably sourced, traceable textiles and yarns
- Waverley Mills – the last textile mill of its kind in Australia
- Net Zero Media - helping to evaluate the carbon footprint and media impact media activity
- The Very Good Bra – developing a certification for garment biodegradability
- The Volte – clothing rental platform that also rewards brands when their garments are rented
Carly Espinosa, Better Packaging's GM Enterprise Sales
