We attended the Legacy Responsible Fashion Summit 2019 in mid-March, and it was excellent. We basically got our brains fried and guts fired up. We would say this conference is the first of this kind of symposium to happen in Australia.

The program was excellent and intense with information. We heard from speakers covering topics on responsible material sourcing to water stewardship; from AUSBIL investor group to the Climate Council; from organisations like Care about #metoo for garment workers to the Department of Home Affairs about the Modern Slavery Act.

We're enraged by the persisting injustices, discriminations and harmful acts on workers in our industry - predominantly women. For what? For a cheap blouse? Your t-shirt shouldn't cost less than a cup of coffee, or a bag of rice.

We're devastated to be part of this system. We can change this.

We were inspired to see the new innovations in textiles that a small business like ours can source more readily - thank you to Raw Assembly. We felt the power of incredible good from people and brands doing awesome work like Outland Denim; from established companies that acknowledge mistakes and take brave steps to change outdated modes of conduct like Spell and The Gypsy Collective; from the new generation of designers who are changing the way we used to do things like A.BCH and Citizen Wolf.

The key take-away for us was that we're on the right track.

We're already implementing things for better ways of living, working and producing. There is still so much we can do, to improve. There are parts of our business that we need to spend more time, like seeking deeper knowledge of our current supply chain and designing towards circularity.

Collaboration, re-commerce, activation, community engagement and education are natural spaces we find ourselves and our voice in talking about sustainability and fashion; about people, work and clothing ethics.

SLOW WEARING WELL is the community initiative that we started as a way for us to have these conversations broadly. Fashion Revolution Week is happening at the end of this month and we’re organising a WhoMadeMyClothes Walking Trail - **EVENT HAS ENDED** BOOKINGS ESSENTIAL. There are at least a dozen small-scale manufacturers working in their premises, producing garments and accessories, across Newcastle.

Come, join us. Discover the people who make your clothes and bags in your city.