New Italian-Australian fashion brand Tema Moda is launching a gift offer that symbolises its commitment to sustainability – giving away super stylish purses made from high-quality fabric offcuts that would otherwise have been thrown away.

The Australia-based online retailer of Italian-made women's clothing and footwear is devoted to “slow fashion”, using luxurious natural materials while adhering to sustainable practices.

The gift offer is just one of the innovative ways in which the brand is improving sustainability and reducing waste, issues that are becoming key concerns for fashion consumers and designers.

Tema Moda’s process begins with using natural products to prepare fabrics, favouring silk, cotton and linen while avoiding synthetics.

“Synthetic fabric is harmful to landfill and it’s also a danger to human health,” says Emanuela Tellaroli, co-founder of Tema Moda, who has spent more than 50 years working in high-end Italian fashion as a designer and dressmaker.

“We should do everything in our power to diminish waste and pollution, starting from the dressmaking process of cutting cloth.

“That is why Tema Moda is creating luxury gifts for customers from fabric that would have otherwise gone to waste and into landfill.”

Putting sustainability at the heart of its business model, Tema Moda creates limited edition collections to avoid overproduction and minimise waste.

The brand’s practical, elegant pieces are made with eco-friendly organic fabrics that are made to last. This involves constant work to source local suppliers and partners who provide quality, sustainable materials.

The environmental impact of mass production of cheap clothing is well known.

• Every 10 minutes, 6000 kilograms of low-cost “fast fashion” items are dumped in Australian landfills.

• Residual fashion waste in Australia averages 2.25 million tonnes per year.

• Toxic chemicals, dyes, and synthetic fibres seep into waterways, affecting marine life.

• It is estimated that more than eight percent of the world's greenhouse-gas emissions are produced by the clothing and footwear industries.

A recent survey showed that 87 percent of Australians are more likely to buy products that are sustainably and ethically produced.

Tema Moda is an Australian online fashion retailer specialising in Italian-made women's clothing and accessories. It was established in 2021 by a mother and daughter team with a vision is to create sustainable, elegant garments.

Emanuela Tellaroli is a dressmaker and designer with more than 50 years’ experience in the Italian fashion industry. Her daughter, Roberta Marchesini, is the brand’s co-founder and marketing director, based in Sydney, Australia. For more information, please visit www.temamoda.com.au.