For a long time, I believed that if I wanted to build a truly ethical clothing brand, everything had to be made in Australia. Local manufacturing felt like the clearest way to support skilled makers, maintain oversight, and produce garments responsibly. It aligned with the values I wanted Twill & Tee to stand for. And for several years, that’s exactly what we did.
But building an ethical slow fashion brand in Australia also means confronting the realities of production costs, scale, capacity, and long-term sustainability of the business itself. Over time it became clear that continuing to manufacture everything locally wasn’t viable for the brand long term. That wasn’t a decision I arrived at easily.
What Slow Fashion Really Means for an Ethical Brand in Australia
Like many small labels working in slow fashion, I had to step back and ask a harder question: what actually matters most when we talk about ethical clothing? Is it only where something is made? Or is it how it’s made, the materials chosen, the conditions people work in, the way garments are constructed, and whether they’re designed to last or not? For Twill & Tee, the answer became clearer: it’s the whole system.
Today we continue to produce a significant portion of our garments in Australia, working with skilled local makers where it makes sense for the brand and the product. Alongside that, we’ve chosen to work with ethical production partners in India, manufacturers who share our standards around working conditions and craftsmanship and responsible manufacturing. India has a long and highly skilled history in textile and garment manufacturing. When done responsibly, it can support extraordinary craftsmanship and provide stable, fairly paid work within established manufacturing communities.
Choosing Natural Fibres and Small Batch Production
Slow fashion is often simplified to the idea of buying fewer clothes. While reducing unnecessary consumption is important, the conversation is broader than that.
For Twill & Tee, slow fashion is really about what those fewer pieces are made of, how they’re constructed, and how long they remain in someone’s wardrobe. Choosing natural fibres instead of synthetics. Designing garments that move across seasons rather than chasing trends. Spending more time on fit, construction and finishing so a piece still feels good to wear years later. When clothing is made with that intention, buying less isn’t about restriction, it’s about buying with more care and keeping things longer.
That philosophy also shapes how we produce as a brand. Instead of large seasonal collections, we work on individual styles and capsule ranges - small batch sustainable clothing production, completed to our own schedule. Instead of constant newness, we refine and evolve styles over time. Samples are created in-house, tested and fits perfected before production is considered. Instead of designing for quick replacement, we design garments to be worn, cared for, and repaired. Slow fashion isn’t just about what customers buy, it’s also about how brands choose to make clothing in the first place and a transparent clothing production process.
What matters to us hasn’t changed. We will always prioritise natural fibres over synthetics and design in small batches rather than chasing volume. Our focus on fit, construction and longevity rather than seasonal trends is core to our brand, and we believe garments should be cared for and repaired, not treated as disposable.
Slow fashion is often presented as simple: local, small, sustainable, with a buy less philosophy for consumers. The reality, however, is more complex. Running a responsible brand involves ongoing decisions and trade-offs, balancing values, economics and the long-term health of the business. Without that balance, small independent brands simply don’t survive. That’s why transparency matters and how responsible fashion is made. We believe in being open about the decisions we make, including when things don’t go exactly to plan because slow fashion isn’t perfect, but honesty matters.