My Vision
I am Annette Sale and I established and launched The Indigo Bell in 2022 during National Recycling Week which was established by Planet Ark in 1996.
In 2022, National Recycling Week explored the idea that Waste isn’t Waste until it’s Wasted – a belief about fashion I hold dear to my heart.
My business was created after a lifetime passion for teaching and sustainable living.
An interest in slow fashion with a particular love of op shopping, finding bargains, upcycling, and wearing my style of uniquely different clothing has led to a desire to share ideas and knowledge.
The Indigo Bell offers a range of upcycling workshops that focus on teaching sustainability principles using various textile crafts.
Anyone interested in circular fashion who wants to become inspired can learn new upcycling skills to extend the life of their clothes and turn them into waste that is saved and not wasted.
Did you know?
WORLDWIDE
AUSTRALIA IS THE
2nd
HIGHEST CONSUMER
OF TEXTILES
PER PERSON
AUSTRALIANS ARE
CURRENTLY DISPOSING OF
6000
KILOS
OF FASHION WASTE
EVERY 10 MINUTES
ON AVERAGE EACH
AUSTRALIAN DISPOSES
OF
93%
OF TEXTILES
THEY BUY
IN AUSTRALIA
LESS THAN
7%
OF TEXTILE
WASTE
IS RECYCLED
The Three Principles and 9Rs of Circular Fashion
Circular Fashion ditches the linear “take-make-waste” model and instead asks the industry to close the loop on production, including responsible manufacturing, use and end-of-life for every garment.
The fashion industry has a negative impact on the environment, with overproduction, waste and CO² emissions. Fashion’s colouring processes are the often-overlooked consequences.
The three main environmental impacts of the fashion industry’s dyeing processes are water waste, chemicals in groundwater and heavy metals contamination. But there are climate-friendly alternative dyes that exist.
Every year across the world, millions of tonnes of clothes are produced, worn, and thrown away. This current process is linear.
Emma Watson, an English actor and activist is right when she says that “as consumers, we have so much power to change the world just by being careful in what we buy.”
The Three Principles
Together we can change the linear nature of fashion and make it circular, help tackle the root causes of global challenges like climate change, pollution, biodiversity loss, and build an industry that designs clothing on the three principles of:
- being used more
- manufactured to be made again
- made from safe and recycled or renewable fibres.
The Indigo Bell’s activities support the Three Principles and the 9Rs of Circular Fashion which define the major strategies to process unwanted textile and clothing in an eco-friendly way.
The 9Rs
The Indigo Bell offers Creative Upcycling Workshops on the Central Coast to assist in the implementation of the following 9Rs of Circular Fashion.
1-3 The Choices to Make
1. Refuse
Every year we buy more clothes than we need which results in many unworn clothes sitting idly in our wardrobes.
Refuse to purchase unnecessary and unsustainable garments and only buying clothes that can be worn again and again.
2. Rethink
Rethink ways to explore and share the sustainable processes that the rethinking makers of garments employed before making a choice to buy.
Once the piece of clothing has been intensively used, rethink ideas of sharing, distributing and donating to someone else.
3. Reduce
Fundamentally, the circular economy is about doing more with less. Look for brands that have increased their efficiency by researching and reducing the natural materials and resources used in clothing manufacture.
Try and choose brands that are experimenting with environmentally friendly fibres like hemp, linen, bamboo and ramie.
4-9 Alterations to Keep Clothing Out of Landfill
4. Reuse
Reuse clothing in good condition by exchanging or swapping with friends and family or at clothes swaps. This practice can help you play a part in saving the environment.
Buying clothing from Facebook Marketplace, Ebay, Etsy or other places like Op Shops can also save you money.
5. Repair
When an item of clothing is damaged, buying a new one is often preferred because trying to repair seems too difficult.
Instead, consider visible mending or repairing the damaged items because the making of new products has a huge impact on the environment, climate, and the people producing the garments.
6. Refurbish
Refurbishing is the art of restoring an old garment to make it new and functional again and restoring it to its original condition.
Enhancing the refurbishment of garments can decrease the need for new materials, resulting in a reduction in waste and carbon emissions.
7. Remanufacture
Remanufacture is the making of a new item by utilising the best parts of a discarded second-hand garment.
During this process the exploitation of natural resources is reduced and better use is made of waste.
8. Repurpose
Repurposing discarded old clothes is achieved by finding another use for them by making them into a new item.
With repurposing, discarded goods can be given a new life to regain their value and reduce harmful effects of waste on the environment.
9. Recycle
Recycling of textiles from old clothing can be rescued and materials processed that would otherwise be thrown away in landfill.
The resulting materials may be used in many different crafts to make a new product.
Newsletter
Sign up to our newsletter to be the first to know about our workshops and get access to exclusive offers and much more.
