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Melbourne Fashion Week 2025

MELBOURNE FASHION WEEK
20 – 26 OCTOBER 2025

20 – 26
OCT 2025

Sustainability

M/FW is committed to making the event as sustainable as possible and each year we build on ways to reduce its footprint whether that be through carbon neutrality, offering designers with strong ethical foundations an opportunity to join our runways, or opening up dialogue on sustainability with talks and workshops featured throughout the program.

The event continues to be certified carbon neutral by the federal government’s Climate Active program. All carbon emissions produced from the event are reduced where possible and tracked – from our attendee’s travel and event catering to construction materials at runways and the flowers we use to decorate spaces. Any emissions that remain are offset and $1 from every ticket sale of M/FW produced events will go towards this. This year we are investing in a variety of offset projects to reduce carbon emissions and protect wildlife and biodiversity. M/FWs carbon offsets support hydro power and landfill gas recovery projects. We have also invested in a land conservation project at Mount Sandy in South Australia which protects the habitat for iconic native wildlife, such as the short-beaked echidna, purple-gaped honeyeater and elegant parrot. The project is managed by local Ngarrindjeri elders while native plants for revegetation are be supplied by the local nursery at Raukkan Aboriginal Community.

SUSTAINABILITY-FOCUSED PROGRAMMING

To achieve our sustainable goals M/FW champions designers whose process and production have strong sustainable, ethical ethos and partners with like-minded organisations to deliver a robust sustainable program.

  • M/FW collaborates with the local fashion community to showcase sustainability-themed Independent Events such as upcycling and sustainable fashion workshops; circular fashion talks; responsible entrepreneurship and intrapreneurship; and exhibitions touching on themes of textile waste and local supply chains.
  • Let’s Collaborate: Strategies for Remaking Textile Waste is a free event doing just that, inviting business owners, designers or anyone interested in textile waste reduction to get involved in the solution to waste.
  • Wild and Crafted, Witness the live bag-making process with slow leatherwork by Simétrie Friday through Sunday, accompanied by an intimate Friday evening dinner of plant-based cuisine from Racine.
  • M/FW is teaming up with Davroe Australia as the event’s official hair partner, a proud Australian brand that offers natural, vegan and cruelty-free haircare products for all hair types.
  •  The Closing Runway: 101 Collins is a must see for all things sustainable design. Set against one of the city’s most elegant yet sustainable buildings, this runway spotlights Melbourne’s independent underground designers who champion upcycling, made to order slow fashion and archival fashion and luxury vintage retailers.

Other event partners and organisations aligned in our sustainable goals are 1 Hotel, 101 Collins, Australian Fashion Council, Collarts, bettercup, Fressko, Moth Design, Younghusband among many more.

Click on Sustainability within the program options to find out more.

M/FW 2025 SUSTAINABILITY INITIATIVES

The event looks at all possible ways to decrease its carbon footprint and be more sustainable, including initiatives to date such as:

  • Reducing construction waste from materials used for building event spaces and runway sets by hiring items rather than building new pieces.
  • Reusing assets used in the build of our event spaces and runway sets where possible for future events with the help of agencies like Moth Design.
  • Reusing event wayfinding and operational signage year on year
  • Partnering with bettercup to reduce single use plastic across all runway hospitality offerings
  • Partnering with venues like 1 Hotel, 101 Collins and Younghusband who align with our sustainable goals
  • Gift bags are reusable tote bags made with made with 100% recycled cotton.
  • All items within gift bags considered under a sustainable lens and no pamphlets included.
  • Upcycled banners into bags program.
  • Reducing the number of printed materials, we produce and opting for more digital executions.
  • Integration of vegetarian meal choices and overall reduction of red meat in catering.
  • Reusable serve wear.
  • Recycled accreditation tags and lanyards.