
There’s lots of discussions and a growing movement regarding moving away from fast fashion and towards ethical, sustainable fashion and examining consumerism. These topics in themselves can be quite complex. Here at Stella Phoenix, we create what we call ‘mindful fashion.’ What is mindful fashion? It’s fashion that not only incorporates quality, ethics and sustainability but also a way to consume by buying less and creating more. It’s a simple, yet clever philosophy that underpins everything we design and means you can still enjoy shopping beautiful, exquisite pieces for your little girls, while having peace of mind that you are contributing to a better world for ourselves, our children and each other.
There’s lots of work to do with changing the face of fashion, and like you, we can’t achieve everything at once. However, we have a Mindful Fashion Plan that we’ve been working towards in order to ensure our impact on the world continues to be a positive one. In our quest for mindful fashion, we are focusing on progress, not perfection because we recognise the nature of our modern world is fluid and ever changing. We aim to be agile and responsive; listening, learning, testing and adjusting as we go along.
Here are some examples of our progress so far:
- Interchangeable pieces: we are committed to designing pieces that enable you to create multiple outfits from simple core pieces and are adjustable for growth. This includes mixing and matching tops and bottoms of playsuits and dresses, the ability to detach skirts from dresses and wear on their own, and also the fact our pieces are seasonless. That is, you can wear them on their own for summer, or layer them to wear all year round. We’re currently working on brand new designs that take these capabilities to a whole new level – so watch this space.
- Timeless, quality and versatile design: whether you decide to pass your outfits down through generations, or on-sell for someone else to love when you’re finished with them, we are committed to designing pieces that will be endlessly stylish, will last and can be played in. This is why we don’t prescribe to the ‘trendmill’ (a term coined by Nina Gbor, a sustainable Fashion Stylist) that holds many hostage – instead opting for timeless pieces that can be styled to suit sentiment, mood and even imagination, without having to continually reinvent your wardrobe. Our luxurious playsuits and dresses have survived all sorts of adventures like cake smashes, sandpits, tree climbing and zooming down slides. If you take care of your treasures, they will last!
- Australian designed, made and owned: from 2020, our Stella Phoenix pieces will be designed and made in Australia. This means customers will not only continue to enjoy exceptional and, at times, unparalleled quality, but also the comfort of knowing that they were made in ethical conditions, by people who are being paid fair wages. Whether in manufacturing, sourcing fabrics, employing staff or working with businesses in the countries we sell into, customers can trust that the money they invest in their Stella Phoenix outfits not only brings joy to their little loves, but is also being invested back into local community jobs and businesses as we grow.
- Smarter manufacturing: we’ve changed our manufacturing process to ensure less waste, from how we determine and allocate the quantities we manufacture, to the manufacturing process itself. An example of this is how our manufacturer cuts fabrics in a way that reduces fabric waste.
We’ve achieved a lot over the last 12 months, and there’s much more to do. At the moment we are working hard behind the scenes on sourcing more Australian, New Zealand, UK and USA fabrics to add to our gorgeous collection of fabrics from around the world. We’re also looking into more sustainable packaging options that will still give you that breathtaking box opening experience y’all love so much! If you know of any amazing suppliers, please let us know!