eBay Australia, in collaboration with the Australian Fashion Council, has crowned an Australian design firm, Dempstah as the primary recipient of its 2024 Circular Fashion Fund for their innovative approach to recycling textile waste into yarn suitable for knitwear production. Dempstah emerged as the top awardee, securing a prize of US $ 100,000, while the runners-up, RCYCL and The Very Good Bra, were each granted US $ 50,000 to showcase their circular business initiatives.
Anne-Marie Cheney, eBay Australia’s fashion lead, emphasised the platform’s commitment to fostering economic opportunities for all and supporting business growth through grants on a global scale. Recognising the role of circularity in shaping the future of the fashion industry, Cheney appreciated initiatives like the Circular Fashion Fund expressing pride in its launch in Australia and confidence in the positive impact the awarded businesses will bring to the sector.
Drawing from over a decade of experience in textiles worldwide, Guy Dempster, the designer and founder of Dempstah, underscored the imperative need for a shift in current textile production and consumption practices. Motivated by a deepening concern over industry overproduction and consumption patterns, Dempster redirected his focus from fashion design to knitwear and knitted textiles to gain insight into more sustainable manufacturing processes.
Dempstah’s innovative approach involves upcycling Australian textile waste into spun yarn through collaborations with local and international textile mills. Their mission includes ensuring waste traceability and establishing fiber recovery facilities locally in Australia, notably through the establishment of a mill in North West Tasmania. The company’s offerings encompass spun yarn suitable for knitwear production and recovered fiber as a sustainable alternative to traditional synthetic materials in garments, homewares, and furniture.
With a strategic vision to utilise the prize money for essential due diligence in sourcing machinery, Dempster will use the money for advancing their sustainable textile production goals. While acknowledging the need for additional fundraising efforts, Dempster views the initial funding as a ‘game-changing’ step towards their ambitions.
