Bare For Good

Celebrities caught in the nuddy often make headlines for all the wrong reasons – but this time, it’s all for a good cause. Ahead of Fashion Revolution Week, which launches on Monday, 11 Aussie celebrities and changemakers have taken most of their kit off in a photoshoot aimed at revealing the shocking reality of fast fashion.

Among those who hopped into their dacks for the Bare For Good campaign are TV gardening star Costa Georgiadis, ethical fashion expert Clara Vuletich and Fashion Revolution Australia coordinator Melinda Tually.

Environmentalist and model Laura Wells, who also took part, says she used to buy loads of cheap clothes until she realised their real cost: inhumane working conditions for makers and destructive impacts on our environment.

“I think it’s important to really put your heart and soul into what you purchase – really understanding where it came from, who made it, how it was made (and) the environmental impact,” Laura says. “For me, they’re all really important things that we should be considering, instead of just how cheap it is. The rule that I really stand by when I’m purchasing is looking at its footprint, where it’s come from and where it will go in the future.”

The campaign is the brainchild of Mighty Good Undies, a new Aussie ethical brand making knickers from good stuff like Certified Organic and Fairtrade cotton. It’s sourced from Chetna Organic, a co-op of 15,000 small organic cotton farmers, and The Rajlakshmi Cotton Mills, an Indian company making cotton into garments using fair working standards, as overseen by the UN’s International Labour Organisation.

Says Take 3 for the Sea founder Tim Silverwood, who’s also part of the Bare For Good campaign, buying clothes made from natural fibres is an environmentally friendly must.

“I’m definitely really concerned at the moment about the increase in synthetic textiles. We’re now understanding that when you wash synthetic clothing, it sheds fibres, which then end up in our waterways, our oceans and affect wildlife,” he says.

“So I think a really big lesson is, only wash when you need to wash. There’s no point washing for the sake of it. Which I guess also opens up the option of trying not to use so many synthetic fibres, trying to use those natural fibres.”

If you want to see more high profile people in their pants, plus short videos of each one explaining their ethical fashion ethos, the Bare For Good campaign officially launches on Monday, April 24.

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WORDS: KOREN HELBIG