2024 IN REVIEW

As 2024 comes to a close, we are excited to share updates on just some of what Ethical Clothing Australia has achieved this year. It has been a landmark year for advocacy, collaboration and supporting local businesses. With some very exciting initiatives, impactful campaigns, and a strategic vision for the future, we’re setting the stage for a big 2025! 

Scroll below for a look at what we’ve been up to this year, and what’s on the horizon as we celebrate 25 years of championing workers’ rights in Australia’s Textile, Clothing & Footwear (TCF) industry.

The Ethical Clothing Australia team.

In 2024, the Ethical Clothing Australia team doubled in size, and now has 12 staff across three states. We are proud to have a vibrant network of accredited businesses nationwide, with growth particularly in NSW and QLD.

We had a momentous year when it came to our advocacy work. A key focus has been the revitalisation of the Ethical Clothing Extended Responsibilities Scheme in NSW and promoting an ethical procurement policy in NSW. We have also been speaking to the Queensland and Federal Governments about adopting ethical policies.

In addition to this work, we also had a one-on-one meeting with the United Nations Special Rapporteur on his recent country visit to Australia.

A Gift Guide poster on display in Melbourne. 

We launched two new initiatives this year with the support of the Victorian Government – our Women’s Leadership Network and our capacity building training workshops. We look forward to expanding these programs in 2025, offering accredited businesses valuable opportunities to learn and connect.  

In 2024, we had a big year of marketing! Here are a few of the things we got up to:

• Reached an audience of over 500,000 across our social media.
• Had over 60,000 visitors to our website, over 29,000 views of our Find an Ethical Manufacturer page and over 26,000 views of our Shop Ethically page.
• Refreshed our branding with new colours and imagery.
• Our 11 Q&As with accredited businesses had over 800 views on our website.
• Launched our 2024 Gift Guide, which has already received over 2,100 views.

To help get the word out, we ran ads in Ragtrader, The Saturday Paper, Peppermint and Australian Life; radio campaigns on RRR in Melbourne, 2SER in Sydney and 4ZZZ in Brisbane; and poster campaigns in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane.  

Our current campaign is called;  See the ‘e’. It highlights our accreditation program. This multi-channel campaign includes radio ads, posters in high-traffic areas, and a performance marketing campaign to reach a broader audience. We also distributed resources to 18 accredited businesses, to go into 50 retail spaces and market stalls nationwide, ensuring visibility and educating consumers on the importance of choosing Ethical Clothing Australia accredited businesses.

The 3,000 paper dolls on display at our Ethical Clothing Australia Week events, which represent the workers across Australia protected by Ethical Clothing Australia. 

One of our key objectives for 2024 was elevating workers’ voices, and we did this through our Worker Stories campaign, our recent event with Generation Women,  and our panel event for Fashion Revolution Week. We also held a panel event in Sydney to answer the question: “Is there sustainable fashion without ethics?”.

We brought together key stakeholders two parliamentary events – one at Parliament House Canberra, and another at NSW Parliament House. These events enabled us to highlight the importance of ethical manufacturing to Ministers, Members of Parliament and Senators.

We held our biggest Ethical Clothing Australia Week yet, with close to 200 guests attending our events in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane. We also had 22 accredited businesses run their own events across the country – including factory tours, panels, pop-up shops, runways, walking tours, in-conversation sessions and more. 

We collaborated with The Finders Keepers to run two SmallTalks events and two stallholder breakfasts in VIC and NSW. We partnered with Fashion Queensland to run a popup event and a panel event, and we supported accredited brands during the Brisbane Fashion Month Slow Fashion Runway. We also offered accredited businesses the opportunity to appear in the Ethical Clothing Australia Marketplace with Peppermint Magazine.

With guidance from our governing body, the Homeworker Code Committee (HWCC), and thanks to support from the Federal Government, we have finalised our first-ever five-year strategic plan. We look forward to sharing more information about this with our accredited businesses in the new year.  

As we head into 2025, our focus will be on:

• Expanding our reach and impact nationally.
• Advocating for stronger local procurement policies at all levels of government and in the private sector.  
• Building awareness of our organisation and Ethical Clothing Australia accredited businesses using our new national marketing plan. 

One of Ethical Clothing Australia’s pop up information sessions in 2024. 

We are also making significant progress on our other projects, including building a new database which will simplify the administrative process for accredited businesses, investing in research on our local industry, and publishing an improved version of our website in-line with our new branding. 

2025 marks our 25th anniversary, and we are planning some exciting events and campaigns to spotlight the talented workers in our industry, and the businesses committed to ethical production. Watch this space!

Thank you for your support in 2024, and for helping to drive positive change in our local TCF industry. From the whole team, we wish you a happy and restful holiday season.  

Rachel Reilly 

National Manager, Ethical Clothing Australia