But Australia takes the prize as the biggest consumer of fashion in the world per capita, with over 300,000 tonnes of textiles discarded each year.

With processes such as resource extraction, manufacturing, distribution, consumption and disposal happening with multiple players and often across multiple continents, finding solutions is not easy. But it’s also not impossible.

A holistic, sustainable, ethical and sufficient fashion future is a North Star that we may or may not reach. However, we need to know when we’re heading in the right direction – and when we’re not.

Join our expert panellists – Dr Lisa Lake, Professor Ken Pucker, and Adrian Jones – who’ll discuss textiles and the circular economy, moderated by Nina Gbor, Director of Australia Institute’s Circular Economy & Waste Program. The panel will explore the legitimacy of proposed and existing textile solutions and seek to decipher the most holistic and legitimate pathways to a sustainable future.

Speakers

Dr Lisa Lake | Director of the Centre of Excellence in Sustainable Fashion + Textiles

Dr Lisa Lake is the Director of the Centre of Excellence in Sustainable Fashion + Textiles, a partnership between UTS and TAFE NSW, which has a mission to aid the sustainable transition of the Australian fashion industry through education, research and advocacy.

Lisa is a pioneer in the Australian sustainable fashion movement having authored Sustainability with Style in 2012, and co-founded Clean Cut, an organisation that brought the first sustainable fashion show to Sydney Fashion Week in 2014.

She completed her PhD at the University of Sydney on transitioning the Australian fashion industry toward sustainability, with particular emphasis on consumer and designer experience. In addition, Lisa also helped develop the sustainability strategy for the University of Sydney, and previously led the marketing team at the Green Building Council of Australia.

Adrian Jones | Director of the Centre of Excellence in Sustainable Fashion + Textiles

Adrian Jones is a seasoned retail veteran with over thirty years’ experience in major retailers in the UK and Australia.

He has held multiple CEO and senior roles, in textile, retail and wholesale businesses. He has a deep and thorough knowledge of sourcing, supply chain and product development in the textile industry. He understands the industry, what drives it and sometimes, what holds it back!

As both an industry participant and consumer, Adrian has realised that the industry is both ready for and needs positive and real change. He observed the tension of trying to continue to grow consumption without dealing with the waste we produce, and this is where BlockTexx can make a significant contribution to the textile model, converting textile waste into resource.

Professor Kenneth Pucker| Professor of Practice at the Tufts Fletcher School

Professor Ken Pucker is an operator, advisor, investor, and educator with a focus on sustainability and ESG.

Ken is a Professor of Practice at the Tufts Fletcher School. In addition, Ken serves at Berkshire Partners as an Advisory Director, where he is a member of the firm’s Responsible Investment Committee. Ken is a published author in periodicals such as the Stanford Social Innovation Review, Institutional Investor and the Harvard Business Review. Ken also is a board member at King Arthur Baking, Rag & Bone, the Commonwealth School, Mighty Earth, and The High Meadows Institute.

Ken spent most of his professional career working at Timberland (formerly NYSE: TBL) serving as chief operating officer from 2000 to 2007. During his tenure with the company, Timberland grew by ten-fold to over $1.6b in sales. He received a Master of Science in Business Administration from M.I.T’s Sloan School of management in 1990 and a B.S. from Middlebury College.

Nina Gbor | Director, Circular Economy & Waste Program at the Australia Institute

Nina Gbor is the founder of Eco Styles. She is a sustainability educator, speaker, consultant and eco stylist working with media, councils, organisations, community groups and schools to create a holistic and environmentally sustainable future in Australia with a focus on circular economy and systems change.

Nina holds a Masters in International Development at University of Bristol, U.K. She designed and ran short courses in sustainable fashion & textiles at RMIT University in Melbourne and now guest lectures in ethical & sustainable fashion at universities and colleges in Australia and abroad.

Nina has worked on a number of successful campaigns and projects around circularity and waste reduction. She is an impact consultant and guest contributor on ABC TV’s award-winning environmental tv show, War On Waste. Nina founded Clothes Swap & Style, a clothing exchange platform that teaches and works with councils and community groups to reduce fashion & textile waste to landfill in Australia by swapping.