leased 2023’s State of Fashion report at the beginning of the week, which outlined how the industry is bouncing back from a tumultuous three year period .  “The Australian fashion and textile industry is at a pivotal moment,” wrote AFC CEP Leila Naja Hibri. “We’re facing inflationary pressures, combined with shortages of skilled workers and  materials, and outdated business models that need to transform to better support a thriving, resilient industry.” Naja Hibri said the AFC will focus on four main pillars between now and 2030 in order to create a more prosperous fashion industry: promoting the Australian Fashion Trademark, building out local manufacturing capabilities, developing skills and careers pathways, and transitioning the industry toward a more circular economy.  “I truly believe that, together, we can do what no single individual, organisation or even government can do alone,” she said.  Afterpay co-founder Anthony Eisen told Inside Retail the report provided an opportunity to reflect on how the business has changed in recent years, and what the next era of the fashion industry could look like. The future, according to Eisen, is looking green. “Sustainability is important to Australian shoppers, with two in five saying that finding sustainably-made items is important to them,” Eisen said.  That said, Australians seeking sustainable clothing are facing a number of barriers, with three in five [customers] saying [it] is too expensive, and almost half saying it’s difficult to find brands that are doing sustainability properly.  To that end, Afterpay, alongside Thread Together, have launched the reCouture initiative with the aim of highlighting excess clothing. Research by the Australian Fashion Council in 2022 found that 260,000 tonnes of clothing in Australia was reaching landfill each year, at a consumer cost of $9.2b. The reCouture initiative will be showcased on a runway show on Friday, which will see prominent Australian designers such as Ginger & Smart and Bianca Spender reimagine the life of men’s excess business suits: recycling them into couture runway pieces. The aim, Eisen said, is to show that clothing can be repurposed, while also highlighting to customers the lifecycle of the clothing they design, manufacture, and purchase.  “It’s our mission to drive meaningful awareness and impact, and showcase that sustainability is the future of fashion,” Eisen said.  Thread Together’s chief executive Anthony Chesler told Inside Retail that men’s suits create excess textile waste with the changing nature of work making suits less desirable for many men.  “We’ve seen that the pandemic fundamentally changed expectations of Aussie workers, including the clothing we wear to work,” Chesler said. “We’re seeing more men’s suits available than there is demand, which is contributing to the 227,000 tonnes of textile waste each year.” According to Chesler, up to a third of all new clothing produced doesn’t get sold, and potentially ends up in landfill.  “We’re encouraging the fashion industry to reflect on how much it is producing and how they can reduce and reuse their excess,” Chesler said.  Chesler said that many brands are taking on sustainable initiatives within their businesses, which is encouraging, but there needs to be large-scale cross-industry collaboration, as well as larger investment, in order to create scalable solutions for excess fashion items moving forward.  But the true power, he believes, lies with the consumer.  “Consumers need to rethink their shopping habits [and] buy less and buy better,” Chesler said.