Ethical fashion is increasingly part of demand for shoppers who want to make a statement in what they wear - knowing where fabric came from, and who was making the garment. This is why organisers have evolved Ballarat's sustainable fashion festival into Ballarat Ethical Fashion Festival next month.

Grampians Central West Waste Resource Recovery Group is building on last year's inaugural festival focus of restyling, reusing and repairing. Group executive officer La Vernge Lehmann said ethical fashion was an extension on this movement.

"Programs like ABC's War on Waste, used terms like 'fast fashion' that really helped to raise awareness," Ms Lehmann said. "When you start to filter through, you realise there are other options out there like repairing or up-cycling. The other side is ethical fashion - is that $3 t-shirt you bought really worth it when you look at what this means for who made it.

"We want people to understand how paying a bit more for better quality can also be about better quality working conditions for those who made it."

Ethical fashion also considers positive impacts on communities involved in the supply chain and sustainability effects the product has on the environment.

Ms Lehmann said shoppers were wanting to become increasingly informed about the broader impacts of what they choose to wear, and clothing labels were becoming keener to make their supply chain more transparent to consumers.

"While we're a waste group, we can speak to such issues in the fashion sector," Ms Lehmann said. "It's all about how we make choices and dispose of what we buy."

Vogue Australia's sustainability editor-at-large Clare Press is keynote speaker for the event.

Ms Press, who has a popular podcast Wardrobe Crisis, is renowned for sparking discussion on the changing global fashion system, including activism and social and climate justice movements.

Ballarat Ethical Fashion Festival launches on August 17.

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HIGH demand for Ballarat's Biggest Clothing Swap is a sign shoppers are wanting to slow down their outlook on what to wear.

There is a growing waiting list to join the swap, which was booked out within the first three days of registrations opening for the Ballarat Ethical Fashion Festival event.

There will be other opportunities for savvy shoppers to find their op-shop style or up-cycle during the week-long festival in August with the program released this week.

Repairing is also a key feature of this year's festival with professional mender Erin Lewis Fitzgerald.

She is keen to help people find ways to fall back in love with pieces of clothing and to see holes and stains as opportunities for creative fashion play.

Grampians Central West Waste and Resource Recovery Group executive officer La Vernge Lehmann said visible mending techniques were great for all sewing abilities and a way to proudly show a preparedness to repair.

Ms Lehmann said the festival was about highlighting what fashion alternatives were out there to simply discarding clothes.

Other workshops include weaving and Japanese slow stitching.

Vogue Australia's sustainability editor-at-large Clare Press will headline the festival launch. Ms Press will be focusing on taking people back to their grandparents' day, where everyone had a 'Sunday best'.

The popular Wardrobe Crisis podcaster is also a passionate advocate for ethical fashion.

Ballarat Ethical Fashion Festival launches on August 17 with events across the region aiming to highlight waste issues in textiles and clothing. More details: ballaratethicalfashion.com.au.

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