Fashion

Jacinta Fitzgerald has united more than 300 businesses and organisations to promote a circular fashion ecosystem in Aotearoa New Zealand.

Jacinta champions a circular economy and collaborative approach to address industry challenges. Through relationship-building with businesses, NGOs and governments, she advances a collective vision for regenerative fashion. Jacinta’s work highlights the power of community and education in transforming fashion’s environmental impact. This is fostering a movement that brings people together for a sustainable future in fashion.

Overland Group’s Renew footwear, made from recycled polyester yarn, sold out three times within the first six months due to high demand.

The Munka Renew programme uses recycled materials to create durable, lightweight safety boots and shoes. The footwear is made from a combination of recycled content including recycled polyester yarns and recycled leather. Renew work boots weigh 670g vs a market average of more than 900g, reducing body fatigue. Steel toe caps have been replaced with nano-carbon safety caps, a third of the weight of steel. There’s also an accompanying Renew sock made from recycled materials including plastic bottles.

Peri Drysdale has championed sustainable fashion since the 1990s, pioneering corporate responsibility for generations.

Peri’s Untouched World is a trailblazer in sustainable fashion, ethical fashion and corporate responsibility. Since launching in the 1990s, Peri has focused on environmental respect, founding the Untouched World Foundation to empower youth with sustainability leadership skills. Recognised by the UN, her work has positioned Untouched World as a leader in ethical fashion, merging business with social impact.

Since 2020, Standard Issue’s 'Care for Life' initiative has repaired more than 400 garments and kept them out of landfill.

Clothing company Standard Issue offers repair, reuse and recycling. Through this programme, Standard Issue promotes a circular approach to clothing by offering garment repair services and using renewable or recycled materials for all products. It challenges the throwaway culture in fashion and helps reduce clothing waste.

The Woo-Lace by Steaddi is a biodegradable wool shoelace that decomposes within three to four months, reducing landfill waste.

Steaddi’s Woo-Lace offers a sustainable alternative to polyester laces. It addresses the global shoe industry’s waste problem, where 24 billion pairs of shoes are produced annually. Made from strong New Zealand wool and natural dyes, Woo-Lace decomposes within months, returning nutrients to the soil and promoting circular fashion.

Workwear Recycled and Textile Products have diverted 12,000 kilograms of textiles and PPE from landfills by recycling them into alternative products.

The partnership offers New Zealand companies a streamlined solution to divert textile waste from landfills. By consolidating multiple waste streams into one collection system, they make recycling cost effective and accessible. This helps companies to reduce their carbon footprint.