“The role of the Social Outfit is to provide an example of how fashion can be done in a way that supports the environment and the makers,” Schippa said.

The Australian Fashion Council has reported that Australians purchase 15 kilograms of new clothing per person each year, with a similar amount discarded.

When customers ask Schippa why a top made from donated fabric costs $180, she asks how long they think it takes to make. The women who make them live in Sydney with its high cost of living.

“So if you talk to the customer, and you do the maths, they quickly understand the reason for that price,” she said.

“The truth is they have been used to seeing T-shirts for $19 or $9. The cost of living in other countries is very different and the speed at which certain things are made is very different to something that is made with love and care and is made properly.

“It is our role to make people realise and understand those things so that they can apply it wherever they go.”

Rob Price from Mad Wholefoods in Summer Hill worked in IT for 30 years before starting his business, which sells food products without plastic packaging.

“We sell products in bulk, unpackaged and people can bring their own containers, or they can grab paper bags,” he said.

“People do have a feeling that we do need to address the inordinate amount of plastic that is in our economy and shops like mine are providing that solution.”

His business took off when it opened in 2020 at the height of the pandemic when people had more time to shop locally. But sales have slowed, dropping by 20 per cent year-on-year, now more people are returning to the office.

“People are not coming because they don’t have time,” he said. “We try to tackle that with a same day click and collect service.”

Monash University’s Australian Consumer and Retail Studies unit in the business school will release research on Monday that found Australian consumers are increasingly looking for sustainable products.

Of 1000 Australian shoppers surveyed for the Spotlight on Sustainability retail monitor report in the three months to September, more than half (52 per cent) said they were thinking more about the social and environmental impact of their purchases. For 85 per cent, durability and for 73 per cent “repairability” are priorities when making non-grocery purchases.

Nearly 40 per cent said they had reduced the number of new products purchased and 45 per cent were willing to pay more for ethically produced items. Another 42 per cent would pay more for products packaged in recycled material.

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The report’s lead author, Dr Eloise Zoppos, said customers were increasingly considering the social and environmental footprint of their purchases.

The report also found that consumers were keen to support locally sourced and produced goods (44 per cent) and were increasingly aware of the benefits of offsetting carbon emissions from shipping and transportation. The survey found 96 per cent were engaging in sustainable practices such as bringing their own shopping bags and recycling product waste regularly.

“This consumer-led sustainable product revolution is underway, and it’s a movement that is gaining momentum,” Dr Zoppos said.

EY has also found an increasing proportion of Australians buy sustainable goods and services.

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St Vincent de Paul executive director of commercial enterprise, fundraising and communications, Yolanda Saiz, said there has been an increase in the number of people shopping on a more regular basis at Vinnies in NSW this year.

“Many of our shoppers are big supporters of reuse and slow fashion,” she said.

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