It's no secret that Spring is one of my favourite seasons. The days get a little longer, the sun gets a little warmer, the layers come off, and Spring collections come out. The turning of Spring also brings Melbourne Fashion Week and over 150 events across nine days to celebrate the best in Australian fashion.
This year's Melbourne Fashion Week program focusses on the environmental impact of fashion, and events from upcycled runways to impact panels and ethical fashion tours to zero-waste design shows are set to highlight sustainable design and responsible consumption.
To kick off Melbourne Fashion Week in sustainable style, I popped down to the Forecourt last night to enjoy a little fashion week caffeine at the Campos Coffee Reusable Cup Espresso Bar and with just one cup - I had a positive impact. Campos Coffee will serve up thousands of coffees during Melbourne Fashion Week, but not a single paper cup will be used at the Forecourt pop up. Impressive, considering Australians throw away nearly three million disposable coffee cups every day.
Campos Coffee’s long-standing dedication to sustainability and their ethical way of working and sourcing coffee is a beautiful testament to their commitment to each individual in their global supply chain. Prioritising people and the planet over profits is a cause close to my heart; over 70% of goods imported into Australia from clothing to coffee is made or cultivated in modern slave labour conditions - and it's not good enough.
Campos Coffee shares my values, and they've been true to theirs since their humble beginnings in 1997. They believe that coffee should not only taste amazing, but make the world a better place, and their love for speciality coffee is never-ending. They work with only the best growers on the planet and only the best beans make the grade.
A cup of coffee mightn't be much to some, but to the 25 million small producers who rely on coffee for a living, predominantly in developing countries, coffee is a valuable commodity. It's something we rely on upon to wake up every morning, but it's something rural communities and small farming families rely on to survive. Ethical coffee is the only kind of coffee Campos will pour, and over Melbourne Fashion Week, they'll be sharing their positive impact with fashionistas and coffee-connoisseurs alike.
Join me and have a positive impact over Melbourne Fashion Week by popping into the Forecourt between August 28th and September 5th with your own reusable cup for a $3 Campos Coffee refill, or buy a Campos Coffee KeepCup for $10.
For the full Melbourne Fashion Week program and list of sustainable events, visit mfw.melbourne.vic.gov.au.
The Fashion Advocate x
