TRANSCRIPT
Alice Thaxton joined as manager of a dress hire business called 'Rent Robes' when it was operating out of her boss' kitchen.
The company's success soon forced them to expand and move to a studio in Sydney's east.
Alice says among other things, the store was established as a means to counter the environmental impacts of fast fashion.
"And obviously the whole concept is not to only give women the chance to wear all these beautiful dresses, but the ability to save wardrobe space and obviously to prevent fast fashion and stop it as a whole really."
Businesses like this allow customers to wear big brands for a fraction of the price, saving them money and helping them to do their small part for the environment.
And Alice says it's a business model which is proving to be highly successful, especially coming into the festive season.
"We have our quiet periods and but generally speaking the aim is obviously to profit, and yeah, business is booming, especially when there's events coming up- summer, Christmas and yeah all the races and whatnot."
New data predicts consumers will spend an average of $567 each during shopping events like Black Friday and Cyber Monday this year, which is up 13 per cent from last year.
It's expected a large portion of everything bought during the sales will either end up in landfill, incineration or low-quality recycling.
Nina Crawley from Oxfam Australia explains how the increased consumer demand is expected to earn the retail industry a staggering two billion dollars in profit this year, while the wages of those who make the garments remain stagnant.
"It's extremely common for large Australian fashion brands to manufacture overseas. I get up to Bangladesh, they're a really key sourcing country, as are countries like China and Vietnam are very large in the Australian market. What we know is that universally wages are low. It's that lower in some regions than others and we know that quite regularly workers are not paid enough to live on. So not paid enough for nutritious food, safe and clean housing."
The organisation is calling for enhanced transparency from brands, so they can be held accountable.
But experts say shoppers, and in-turn businesses, are becoming more ethically conscious.
C-E-O of Moogoo Skincare Melody Livingstone says environmental consciousness has become increasingly important to her company's processes in recent years.
"We make our packaging from recycled plastic bottles which are currently 100% PCR and they can be refilled. So that's one of the major changes we've made over the last few years. Our tubes also made from 30% PCR, as well so we're very conscious of having sustainable packaging."
It's small businesses like these that are taking big steps towards more ethical practices.
