Join Ethical Clothing Australia and a host of experts on Saturday 20 April for a panel exploring the rights, stories and future of local garment workers.

Moderated by author and sustainability communicator Clare Press, the panel will feature garment workers with lived experience, academics and members of the Textile, Clothing and Footwear Union.

During this one hour in-person panel, you’ll hear more about:

The state of the garment industry in Australia right now
What’s being done to improve the lives of workers
What else needs to change in the Australian fashion industry to impact local garment workers
What you can do as a consumer to make a difference

Meet the panel

Linh

Linh is a boat refuge, escaping from Vietnam in the early 1980s after the fall of South Vietnam. She learnt to sew while still in Vietnam as a teenager at the community clothing production.

She arrived at an island off Malaysia and stayed in a refugee camp before she was accepted to go to Australia. After having her first child, Linh decided to buy her own machinery to work from home as an outworker, mainly working with jersey fabrics making sportswear.

To meet deadlines, Linh often worked long hours, 7 days a week. She was paid per piece, an average of $5 per hour. She was not aware of holiday pay or superannuation. Linh didn’t know about the legal rights for an outworker, so she had to rely on the employer to give her work and pay very low.

Nguyet Nguyen

Outworker Outreach Officer, Textile, Clothing and Footwear Union

Nguyet is the first outworker to hold a union office in Australia.

A refugee who fled out of Vietnam at the age of 16 with her brother, she first lived in Holland for eight years after being picked up by the Dutchman ship while they were at sea. Nguyet got married and migrated to Australia with husband and a young daughter in 1987.

A few weeks after settling in Melbourne, she bought sewing machines to work from home and was then an outworker for more than 20 years.

Nguyet took part with the union in a Senate Hearing on the Textiles, Clothing and Footwear (TCF) Act and was elected as a member of the Committee of Management for the TCF Union for the Victorian, Queensland and WA Branch for 8 years. She was then elected as a Union Officer to the TCF sector.

In 2009, Nguyet became an Outworker Outreach Officer with the TCF Union.

“My role is to support the vulnerable workers who are sewing for work at home, to ensure that they are protected with working conditions and receiving their rights as per the Textile, Clothing and Footwear Industry Award,” she says.

“I enjoy what I do. Being an outworker myself, I wasn’t able to find any help, therefore I wanted to take the chance to help outworkers.”

Beth Macpherson

National Compliance Officer, Textile, Clothing and Footwear Union

Elizabeth Macpherson (Beth) has over 40 years’ experience in the TCF industry, both as a production worker across all TCF sectors and as an elected Official and employee with the Textiles, Clothing and Footwear (TCF) Union since 2002. She is currently the National Compliance Officer for the TCF Union, managing the compliance and outreach team as part of Ethical Clothing Australia’s accreditation program. Beth is deeply committed and passionate about protecting the rights of workers, both in factories and in their homes, including making sure they are receiving all their lawful entitlements and are working in a safe environment.

Kirsten Lee

Program Coordinator Fashion & Sustainability at Collarts, Founding member of Fashion Revolution Australia & New Zealand

Kirsten has worked in the fashion and textiles industry for over 15+ years in Sydney.

She also has over 13+ years of experience in teacher training, coordinating, and delivering curriculum in fashion, textiles, graphic design, design theory, and history.

Kirsten is passionate about empowering students and colleagues through teaching design and effective pedagogy. She aims to create inclusive and engaging learning environments, foster collaboration and creativity, and support students’ and staff’s academic and personal growth.

Kirsten is a founding member of Fashion Revolution Australia, New Zealand member and is currently the Education Coordinator.

Her mission is to contribute to advancing ethical fashion and design as a field of expertise and a force for positive change.

Edwina Walsh

Founder, Assembled Threads

Having forged a successful career across all aspects of the fashion industry in Australia and overseas, a trip to Nepal to source beanies hand knitted by women exiting situations of sexual exploitation and slavery ignited Edwina’s interest in how we were utilising the skills of the growing numbers of refugees entering Australia with strong manufacturing expertise. Feeling that there was an opportunity to renew the local manufacturing industry through mobilising this workforce, she spent the next 18 months volunteering with not-for-profit organisations to meet these women and inform her theory.

From these learnings and connections Assembled Threads has emerged. Edwina has the rag trade running through her veins and Assembled Threads is a project driven by passion.

Dewi Cooke

Chief Executive Officer at The Social Studio

Dewi Cooke is the CEO of The Social Studio, a not-for-profit social enterprise providing work and training opportunities in fashion and the creative industries to refugee and new migrant communities. Here, she oversees an RMIT-accredited training program, an ethical manufacturing studio and a socially conscious retail venture as well as numerous creative and community projects. She was previously a journalist and has a Masters in Journalism from Columbia University in New York.

Join Ethical Clothing Australia, Fashion Revolution and a host of industry leaders for this important panel focusing on the rights and future of Australian garment workers. Moderated by author and sustainability communicator Clare Press.