Melbourne Fashion Week 2023

MELBOURNE FASHION WEEK
23 - 29 OCTOBER 2023

Melbourne Fashion Week 2023

23 – 29
OCT 2023

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.

Melbourne Fashion Week is once again 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 supporting renewable energy projects abroad and Australia biodiversity protection projects protecting habitat for the short-beaked echidna, purple-gaped honeyeater and elegant parrot in collaboration with Traditional Owners.

Sustainability-focused programming

  • Collaborating with the local and international fashion community to program sustainability-themed events as part of the Independent Events offering upcycling workshops, exhibitions and talks touching on themes of textile waste, new sustainable products hitting the fashion market. Click on Sustainability within the program options to find out more.
  • Championing Melbourne brands on M/FW runways who follow initiatives such as using deadstock fabric, providing transparency around their supply chain or producing garments locally. Check out the Le Méridien Pool Deck Runway, Strateas Carlucci Runway and Underground Runway for a spotlight on sustainable designers.
  • Partnering with Collarts, an independent tertiary education provider, committed to nurturing Melbourne’s emerging design talent in a sustainable career and creating a number of opportunities within M/FW for fashion lovers to learn more about sustainable design.
  • Teaming up with Future From Waste Lab to introduce Melbourne’s emerging and established designers to a world of dead material stock as a source of material for new designs and showcasing some of these collaborations in runways and independent events.

M/FW 2023 sustainability initiatives

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

  • Champion designers whose process and production have strong sustainable, ethical ethos.
  • Partnering with sustainably minded organisations like Collarts, Future from Waste Lab, Moth Design, Australian Fashion Council, Ethical Clothing Australia, Sustainability Victoria and more to drive programming and support our aligned sustainable goals.
  • 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.
  • Upcycled banners into bags
  • Looking at different iterations for the M/FW gift bag, past bags have been made out of construction waste, material offcuts or tote bags produced to be reused.
  • Reducing single use plastic – no plastic water bottles or straws.
  • Reducing the amount of printed materials we produce and opting for more digital executions.
  • Integration of vegetarian meal choices and overall reduction of red meat in catering.
  • All items within gift bags considered under a sustainable lens and no pamphlets included.
  • Reusable serve wear.
  • Recycled accreditation tags and lanyards.