Circular label embraces wool

BY ACM

AN AUSTRALIAN ethical fashion brand, a fashion manufacturer and wool growers who supplied them have been connected in a new traceability partnership through wool broker Fox & Lillie.
Fox & Lillie in 2016 founded their traceable wool program in Australia, Genesys, which is certified under the rigorous international Responsible Wool Standard (RWS) scheme. Through the program Fox & Lillie connects woolgrowers with fashion and upholstery brands in Australia and globally, with the latest partnership connecting circular fashion label, A.BCH, bespoke knit fabric designer and manufacturer, MTK Australia, and woolgrowers.
Fox & Lillie Rural’s national wool brokerage manager, Eamon Timms said the company was constantly endeavouring to deliver these kinds of opportunities for woolgrowers and also provide suitable connections for downstream wool users.
“We look forward to more positive outcomes in the future as more members of the supply chain come together and work collaboratively.” he said.
A.BCH regards itself as a “circular fashion label”.
The Dohne wool was used within its A.34 thermal shirt range which incorporates range wool grown at 10 different farms from around Victoria and NSW. The wool fibre was purchased and combined by Fox & Lillie before being sent to Xin’ao in China to be processed and spun. The farms, broker and spinner are RWS certified. These yarns are kept separate from other wool, ensuring traceability from farm to product.
Spun yarns were sent back to Victoria to the A.BCI-I mill while MTK Australia knitted and dyed the fabrics locally.
According to its website, its sole purpose is to champion a better way to design, make, wear and circulate clothing to help create a more equitable and sustainable world.
Circular design is an approach to developing products and systems that incorporate three principles:
I designing out waste;
I keeping materials and products in use;
I regenerating natural systems.
The West Melbourne-based company is accredited by Ethical Clothing Australia.
“For suppliers not employed directly by us, we work to uncover the truth about every fibre and process used in our products, tracing whole supply chains, learning about artisans and skills involved and telling you what we’ve learned on each product page – where you can see the whole story of how each garment came to be,” its website said.
The Genesys program includes more than 100 wool growers from across Victoria, Tasmania, NSW, Queensland and South Australia. It’s not the first time Dohne breeders have supplied to an ethically conscious brand, with the breed’s wool used in the Citizen Wolf 2021 range. The brand’s 150gsm superfine Merino wool jersey is knitted in Melbourne and sourced exclusively under the RWS from certified non-mulesed.