Handmade textile traditions are disappearing, displaced by fast fashion and throwaway culture. Eco Fashion Week Australia is fighting back - empowering artisan communities, supporting fair trade, and keeping traditional craft alive. From Australian runways to the streets of Florence, EFWA is proving that fashion can be a force for cultural preservation and environmental healing.

A 2016 leadership conference sparked a school holiday project and business idea for best friends Isobel Marshall and Eloise Hall. They went on to launch TABOO, a social enterprise that sells sustainable products via an online store, with profits dedicated to eradicating period poverty through advocacy and supply of products to people who need them the most.

Tikesa Hale created her Northern Territory business to fill a gap she saw in the market - events for mob, by mob. A proud Luritja and Wuthathi woman, she provides culturally enriching event management with a focus on developing First Nations people, including students and young workers.

ShoreTrack works with a simple idea: put young people at the centre of decisions on what they want to do in life, and let their passion and engagement grow from there. ShoreTrack STeps was created in 2024 to make this work financially sustainable and provide a real-work environment for young people to build skills and connection in a supported environment.

Emily Briffa was volunteering in her brother’s social enterprise cafe in Melbourne when she became hooked on the concept that something as simple as buying a coffee could change lives and communities. Almost 10 years later, her social enterprise cafe Hamlet has delivered more than 53,000 hours of targeted training and work readiness support to 765 Tasmanians.