Our Stories
Cracking the Code: Meet the Women Breaking New Ground in the Fashion Industry

The 2023 United Nations International Women’s Day theme is Cracking the Code: Innovation for a gender equal future. The theme highlights the value of innovation in driving positive change, and the role that transformative ideas can play in empowering women and marginalised communities all over the world.
In recognition of this year’s theme, we’re profiling three partners who are championing innovation in their fields and breaking new ground in the fashion industry.
Kirri-Mae Sampson, Hatch + Make
Kirri-Mae Sampson is an expert on textile waste management, working with brands to transform the linear fashion model of ‘take, make, waste’ into one that considers the entire product lifecycle. She is also the co-founder of Hatch + Make, an Australian knitwear studio that specialises in circular manufacturing while supporting the industry to move towards a circular economy.

Can you describe circularity in your own terms?
Circularity is a reflection of natural systems.
In nature, there’s no such thing as waste. When a plant or animal dies at its natural end of life, it decomposes and feeds the earth in ways allowing something else to grow. Its end is regenerative. It’s part of a broader ecosystem and a cycle that continues in harmony.
When we apply that model to the linear context we exist in, it’s a framework for design, making, use, reuse and end of life, that eliminates waste, keeps products in use at their highest value for as long as possible and regenerates natural environments.
Circularity presents an enormous opportunity for our industry—and any industry in the business of making things—to do better.
You recently co-founded Hatch + Make, an Australian knitwear manufacturer. Recognising the theme of innovation as part of this year’s IWD, tell us about Hatch + Make and its innovation.
Hatch + Make is a design, development and manufacturing studio for premium knitwear. We have a pilot factory running in the Yarra Valley and we are building this business to basically be the change we want to see in the sector. It’s based entirely on a circular economy framework with regards to what we produce, but also how the facility is run.
With product, we have a particular focus on natural grown fibres and this extends to any trims, tags and components that our design partners may wish to include on the products we make. Already, the technology enables a very low waste approach to making by knitting pieces of a garment exactly to the dimensions required. There’s no cut and sew, so that whole step of potential waste is negated. Further to this, we are building systems of working with this amazing knit technology to allow small minimums and small drops of larger quantities so nobody is stockpiling what we make nor in a position where they’re unable to sell through. We practise transparency with our partners and are keen to collaborate with industry.
What are the opportunities for waste within the wider Australian fashion industry?
Waste is surprisingly such a subjective term. Honestly, the greatest opportunity is to prevent it, minimise it, delay it, reframe our thinking around it and ultimately take responsibility for it.
When it comes to addressing existing issues and volumes of apparel and textile waste, there are some amazing players in the space already, and a growing number of avenues that apparel and textile waste could take that don’t result in immediate landfill. The more brands, charities, textile recyclers and of course governments can align efforts and collaborate, the better equipped we’ll all be to manage these issues locally.
What change would you like to see in the Australian manufacturing industry, and what innovation do you see on the horizon?
Australia has such a thriving wool and cotton industry, and I would love to see more local production where it makes sense, to really connect the dots on that all the way to the customer. It’s mind-boggling that we produce over 90% of the world's best fine Merino wool, but ship it off-shore for spinning and manufacturing.
We have some incredibly skilled makers and manufacturers in Australia and there’s certainly scope to look more closely at what we can produce here, what makes sense to produce here and make it happen.
Innovation happens at every step in the value chain and also when we collaborate. I would love to see the production of garments have not just a neutral, but a positive impact on our natural environment. With regenerative farming practices starting to emerge (some have been operating this way for years already), and more and more mainstream focus on circular economy, I think we’re on the way to being able to achieve this. It’s really exciting to think that we could contribute in some small way.
How can we all support the future of Australian manufacturing, and in particular, how can we increase the prevalence of women in this industry?
At a baseline, these roles need to be appealing. These workplaces need to have a culture that people want to be part of.
I think with decades of exploitation in this industry globally, and in a large majority of cases, against women, it does have a bad name. When people think of apparel manufacturing it’s easy for that conversation to quickly turn to one about forced labour because that’s what we see about it in the media. Obviously this is an enormous and devastating reality in some contexts, and a story that should continue to be told. But we have an opportunity to tell a more positive story about what this industry can be too.
To me, manufacturing is really fulfilling. Every day is different. We don’t sit at a single machine for eight hours and then go home, only to do it again the next day. The work is technical, it’s varied and it’s interesting. There’s problem-solving, relationship-building, skill developing and honing. There’s so much to it and so many pathways that could lead to a fulfilling career in manufacturing here in Australia. Maybe more people just need to know this side of it also exists.
Kayla Mossuto, Precious Plastic Melbourne
Through her business Precious Plastic Melbourne, Kayla Mossuto is challenging the perception of ‘waste’ and how we dispose of single-use plastics. Founded in 2019, Precious Plastic Melbourne’s aim is to empower recyclers at the grassroots level, while using disruptive design to positively impact the planet.

Can you tell us about Precious Plastic Melbourne and how the business came to be?
It was 2019, and my husband and I had a small but established sustainably-focused eCommerce brand. We were researching responsible materials for a new product line when we were introduced to the concept of Precious Plastic (a global movement and community of 'micro-recyclers') with a focus on using waste as a resource. We loved the idea of diverting plastic from landfill, the ability to manufacture in-house, and the untapped creative potential of plastic waste as a raw material! Back then micro-recycling machinery wasn't readily available, so we had to build from scratch. We've since gone on to produce an incredible array of 100% recycled products for a wide variety of brands and organisations including our collaboration with Country Road, which is made using recycled bottle tops.
I feel exceptionally lucky to do something that is not only creating meaningful impact, but is also creative and innovative. With so much to learn, and the ability to play with a wide variety of colours and techniques, no two days are ever the same!
Why is it important to engage local manufacturers in micro-recycling?
To support plastic recycling in Australia, we must support our local makers in this space. The recent closure of national soft plastics recycling programs has really highlighted the need for tangible outcomes for recycled materials. As well as material collection, we need to bring into focus the remanufacturing and commerciality of recycled materials—because if there is no market for the end product, recycling initiatives become unviable.
Micro-recyclers in particular have the ability to manufacture using traditionally 'tricky to recycle' plastics that aren't accepted via industrial-scale facilities. And of course, supporting these small Aussie businesses and Australian Made supports our local economy, as well as reducing miles of not only the goods, but also the materials used to create them. At Precious Plastic Melbourne, one of our core focus areas is remanufacturing plastics that aren't accepted through kerbside recycling, such as plastic bottle caps, which are generally too small for most commercial facilities to process.
Precious Plastic uses a ‘bottom-up’ approach to recycling, empowering people at the grassroots level. Can you talk through this approach and why it’s important?
It's this idea that anyone can do this; everyone can be a recycler. And with so much plastic waste to go around, it's certainly a case of the more the merrier! The grassroots micro-recycling movement—a distributed network of do-ers, one connected to the next—is such a unique, collaborative and exciting space. This approach encourages a critical aspect of climate work that needs to happen at a local and community level. It enables communities to take the recycling of locally-generated plastic waste into their own hands, and to create value from something that was once destined for landfill.
How can micro-recycling be used as a tool to empower women globally?
With so many inspiring female creators, makers, and women-led initiatives already in the micro-recycling eco-system, I certainly feel it's just the beginning for women who are diving head-first into this previously male-dominated industry. A beautiful recent example is a newly launched Precious Plastic chapter in Amman, Jordan, where a recycling workspace has been set up to be run entirely by women within a marginalised community. The Jordanian women are not only inspiring the local community to see women in the workforce, but are also creating recycled items like prayer beads and delicate jewellery.


Dr. Katherine Jones, Oritain
Dr. Katherine Jones is the science lead at Oritain, an organisation that is dedicated to driving supply chain transparency. As science lead, Katherine is responsible for overseeing Oritain’s cotton, wool, mohair and cashmere databases, enabling brands like Country Road to scientifically verify its fibres back to source.

Can you explain your process of ‘mapping’ global cotton and wool growing regions through chemical fingerprints?
Oritain’s process is similar to a fingerprint database, but instead of holding images of human fingerprints, we hold databases of the chemical markers for growing areas of cotton, wool, and other products from around the world.
Every living thing, whether it be a plant, animal or human absorbs the chemistry of its environment. We can then use this information to create a chemical marker.
Oritain goes to cotton fields and shearing sheds to collect and analyse genuine samples for these chemical markers. We then use statistics to determine the baseline population for a given product and origin.
Once we have this database established, we can test audit samples against it to see if they correspond with the origin profile.
Why is scientific verification in supply chains important?
Scientific verification is important because it provides confidence and accountability in the supply chain. Confidence is based on authenticity being verified by an independent test that must meet scientific rigour and acceptance. Because our form of scientific testing can be implemented throughout fashion supply chains—from sourcing product all the way to retail shelf—this reinforces accountability at each step.
What role can supply chain transparency play in creating a gender equal future?
Supply chain traceability provides the opportunity for transparency. Transparency is crucial for empowering and improving equality for every participant in a supply chain—including individual farmers and factory workers. With knowledge comes the power of choice, which is especially enhanced for consumers who can use that power to buy products that are sustainably and ethically produced by brands that are committed to verifiable claims.
You’ve been at Oritain for seven years. Can you talk to the changes you’ve seen in supply chain traceability during that time?
I’ve seen a massive shift in the decision-making motivations when it comes to purchasing food and fashion. Affordability is still important, but consumers are much more knowledgeable about issues that affect the products they buy—including forced or unethical labour practices, deforestation, animal rights, water usage and climate change impacts. At the same time, consumers are becoming savvy about the practice of greenwashing, where labels can state claims that are either meaningless or misleading.
This shift means that consumers are expecting more from the products they buy and they expect these products to be authentic. Supply chain traceability is no longer something that is only done by niche or high-end brands, but is now considered a minimum requirement for doing business.
How has Oritain partnered with Country Road to drive innovation in supply chain transparency?
Country Road is committed to increasing supply chain traceability and transparency. The brand supports Australian farmers and their industry-leading practices and quality of fibres. Oritain’s role in this commitment is to verify the 100% Australian origin story in Country Road’s Verified ranges through every step of the supply chain—from the raw product, to yarn, fabric and finally, the retail product. This transparency and authenticity in the supply chain mean that Country Road is confident in the 100% Australian sourcing of these ranges and can pass on that confidence and pride to its customers.

