ICONITE Spotlight: Got You Looking at our People - Rebekka Carey-Smith, Head of Sustainability.

Welcome to ICONITE Spotlight, our monthly series where we shine a light on the incredible people behind THE ICONIC. In celebration of National Recycling Week, we’re kicking things off with a special feature on Rebekka Carey-Smith, our Head of Sustainability. We sat down with Rebekka to dive into what it’s really like to lead sustainability efforts in retail, the experiences that have shaped her journey, and her vision for the future of sustainable fashion in Australia.

Can you describe your role as the Head of Sustainability at THE ICONIC??

Dynamic and constantly being redefined. Working across climate, human rights, packaging, reporting, governance, circularity means that no day is the same, and because all these topics are being redefined by innovations, updates to science based research and unpredictable geo-politics, it’s a role that requires ongoing problem solving, pivoting and persistence.?

What was your career path like leading you to this role??

I’ve worked in the fashion sustainability space for over 10 years across both the not for profit sector and in house in fashion brands like THE ICONIC. My love of the fashion industry actually started back in school, which led me to start a fashion design course at uni, and develop my own micro brand in New Zealand before moving to Sydney. That’s when my path changed and I moved away from the more glamorous side of fashion, but I wouldn’t change it. I have loved seeing the shift in our industry over the past 10+ years and there is so much more to come.

What does a typical day look like for you?

Every day truly brings something different. On a more typical day, I might be working with the buying team on our sustainable assortment and speaking with brands about their sustainability journey or collaborating with the Own Brand team to ensure the factories making our products are meeting our ethical sourcing standards. Then I might be working with the operations team on finding sustainability efficiency opportunities, or exploring with the product and customer teams how we can elevate our sustainability initiatives and credentials to our customers. I am also often joining industry roundtables, working groups and webinars to ensure THE ICONIC is at the table and participating in the dialogue around the fashion industries sustainability transformation.?

What are some key recent projects you have worked on (or are currently working on) that excite you the most?

I am extremely proud that THE ICONIC commenced its BCorp journey, while we’ve not quite finalized our certification, the journey we’ve been on to date has been fundamental to changing the sustainability governance underpinning our business and that's really exciting for me.

What do you love most about your role?

The dynamic nature of it, and how it constantly challenges me to take a balanced approach to consider the social, environmental and commercial aspects of what we’re trying to achieve to ensure the best long term outcomes for all our stakeholders.

What is one of the biggest challenges about the industry??

For me one of the biggest challenges continues to be the complexity of fashion supply chains and the lack of transparency we have on the true social and environmental impacts we have.?

What are your hopes for Sustainability in Australian retail and e-commerce over the next few years?

My hopes are that the momentum that is growing around circularity continues and the realisation that our industry' s future is dependent on protecting and restoring nature, that we start to see a more level playing field through regulation, and that the transformation that needs to happen respects human rights whilst achieving climate outcomes. Just a few simple hopes!

If you could implement one initiative to further sustainable practices in the industry Australia-wide, what would it be??

In Australia one of the biggest challenges our industry faces is the lack of end of life solutions for our fashion items, with Seamless this week releasing new figures from 2023 that in 222,000 tonnes of clothing was sent to landfill. There are so many amazing initiatives already out there, like our partnership with RCYCL & REWEAR, making it simple for us to recycle our unwearable clothing and donate our wearable clothing. So I don’t think it’s about implementing a new initiative, but supporting and scaling the initiatives that are already there fighting the good fight.

What is currently on your Wishlist on THE ICONIC?

Of course my RCYCL & REWEAR satchels are always in my wishlist, reminding me to add to cart every time I make a purchase. There are constantly absolutely worn through tees or socks in my house with two toddler boys that need to be recycled, as well as good quality clothes that they have outgrown that I can donate. For me though, right now it’s Christmas presents, some toys and gifts and for me, maybe a sneaky AERE summer set (top & pants), of course from our Considered edit made using 75% LENZING? ECOVERO?? Viscose.

You can purchase RCYCL & REWEAR satchels from THE ICONIC HERE. Stay tuned for our next edition of ICONITE Spotlight where we delve into the world of Customer Service.