While the feelings surrounding sustainability and the global environmental issues caused by the fashion industry can feel immensely overwhelming, we chose to focus on what we can control - our individual choices. This represents a form of soft activism that highlights the power each of us has to create change, advocating for small shifts made by many rather than perfection achieved by a few.

We question fashion for a place of love and respect.

Australia is the largest consumer of textiles in the world. 

“In early 2022, I realised I didn’t have a great relationship with clothes. Deciding what to wear occupied my thoughts continuously, and many of my feelings about getting dressed were negative. 

This realisation led to a research project exploring our relationship with clothes, trying to understand how clothes make us feel - observing my behaviour and the community around me while creating an online conversation to help people feel a sense of belonging within this space. 

As I reconcile my relationship with clothes and look at the people around me, I see a narrative suggesting we must look a certain way, adding pressure, confusion and self-doubt when buying and wearing clothes.”

- Liz Sunshine

OUR STORY

Our Relationship With Clothes (O.R.W.C.) launched in early 2022 as an on-line and off-line art and conversation project by Melbourne-based artist and documentary fashion photographer, Liz Sunshine. The project aims to foster safe spaces where individuals can share their experiences and examine the broader and personal implications of how we choose and live with clothes. By embracing vulnerability and openness, Liz hopes to inspire meaningful conversations that creates change in both our personal lives and the fashion industry at large. 

A space that welcomes all people and perspectives, this global community space is moderated by a small group of like-minded individuals who love clothes and are interested in supporting Liz’s mission. Aiming to empower people to reclaim their sense of self and redefine fashion as an act of personal expression, rather than one dictated by societal trends or expectations.

The project involves:

  • Asking people questions about their clothes to cultivate a positive and empowered connection with getting dressed.

  • Creating accessible art exhibitions that invite the wider community to participate in this conversation.

  • Sharing Q&A responses collected online to extend the conversation and community.

  • Promoting soft activism by highlighting the power of small, individual changes rather than seeking perfection.

  • ORWC is a judgment-free environment for honest and vulnerable exploration, sharing diverse perspectives on behavior, thoughts, and feelings related to clothing. The project remains free of clothing advertising and provides opportunities for anonymity in digital and physical Q&As.

  • Our Relationship With Clothes* (O.R.W.C.) is a soft activism project that seeks to cultivate a positive connection between people and their clothing. Australia is the largest consumer of textiles in the world. We create safe spaces for reflection and conversations while spreading awareness of overconsumption and textile waste.

  • Soft activism is the power of change within you. It reflects your beliefs and emphasises listening, learning and making informed decisions to drive change in a subtle yet impactful way.

    Small changes by many are more powerful than significant changes by few.

  • Art, rooted in creativity, holds a unique power to engage us on complex issues, activating empathy and curiosity. Scientific research shows that creativity shapes our self-awareness, opening pathways to new perspectives and deeper understanding. Art offers space for reflection, allowing individuals to see themselves and society in a new light.

    Our belief in art as soft activism lies in its quiet strength to inspire change. Through her work, Sunshine explores the psychology of clothing - how it influences mood, behaviour, and identity. Her documentary photography invites viewers to reflect on their own choices, revealing clothing as both an act of self-expression and a reflection of consumption habits.

    Sunshine’s art, driven by curiosity, examines the stories we tell through what we wear. It asks us to consider how clothes can represent more than just fashion, but a mindful expression of values and individuality. In this way, art becomes a subtle yet powerful force for change.

  • As a community of like-minded people, we believe in exchanging thoughts, feelings and ideas while asking questions and listening. 

    We recognise that we all come from different experiences, with different upbringings, cultural backgrounds, lifestyles, budgets, needs, and wants. We deeply value this diversity. We are committed to facilitating and supporting this safe, nonjudgmental space for sharing ideas and questioning fashion. 

    Conversation is critical for change. 

    We commit to authentically and honestly leading a curious conversation to understand how clothes make us feel, spreading awareness for textile waste, and encouraging people to buy less. 

    We commit to explore, not explain. 

  • We see our relationship with clothes as a vulnerable conversation to dismantle barriers and re-evaluate individual and collective behaviour. Each person's starting point is different and there’s no right or wrong way to live with clothes.

    We commit to:

    • Moderate a safe, judgement-free space for honest and vulnerable exploration and reflection. 

    • Share typical and atypical responses for a well-rounded perspective and pictorial toward our behaviour, thoughts and feelings. 

    • Ensure this space remains free of clothing advertising. 

    • Provides an opportunity for anonymity for all digital and physical Q&As.

    • Remain transparent toward our creative practices and outcomes, ensuring we operate in line with our code of conduct. 

    • Leave the door open in community spaces, allowing for a variety of voices to be heard.

    • Educate ourselves by reading and researching existing and new material that questions fashion. 

    • Listen to you, the community members, and allow opportunities for feedback in response to this project.

  • As a soft activism project that stands against textile waste, we see sustainability as a cornerstone to how we work and create, from everyday operations, to fine art and paper products. Our commitment to sustainability is a work in practice.

    We understand that small changes by many are more powerful than big changes by few. 

    We commit to:

    • Building long-term relationships with Australian suppliers, makers, creatives and businesses whose environmental and ethical values align with ours.

    • Supporting local industry by producing products onshore.

    • Minimising packaging to reduce waste, working towards one hundred per cent compostable during 2025.

    • Understand and disclose materials used in art projects, utilising natural, recyclable, consumer waste, deadstock fabrics, and vintage fibres when possible.

    • Only produce a product if it is deemed of significance or value by our O.R.W.C. community.

    • Assessing quantity of paper products produced, based on a responsible assessment of sale, placing importance on product responsibility over profit. 

    • Reduce, re-use, recycle, across all office operations.