The New Home of Ethical Shopping?
- Words by Peppermint
Walking into a busy department store and finding yourself surrounded with nothing but ethical products sounds like a distant dream. But what if your local mall became the next ‘it’ destination for conscious shopping? If David Jones gets its way, all 39 of its retail branches will soon be one-stop shops for brands who demonstrate a commitment to workers’ rights and responsible environmental practices. Last week, CEO Ian Nairn told the Sydney Morning Herald about DJs’ ambitious new plan to fill its racks and shelves with nothing but “sustainable, environmentally friendly, and child and slave-labour free” items. It’s certainly an admirable vision, but is it an achievable target?
One of the country’s biggest retailers, David Jones is also the oldest continually operating department store in the world. Over time, it has had to keep up with major changes to the retail landscape, especially here in Australia. DJs is already home to a handful of Ethical Clothing Australia (ECA) accredited labels, including Ginger & Smart, Jets swimwear, Nobody denim and Roopa Pemmaraju (look out for our interview with Roopa in the next issue of Peppermint). But this month’s announcement takes the retailer’s fair fashion commitment to a whole new level.
As well as increasing the number of ECA brands in stock, DJs wants to support young and upcoming Australian designers to build their businesses along ethical lines. Leveraging an already huge share of the market, it’s also a chance to expose many thousands more consumers to ethical brands, hopefully creating more demand and injecting more money into the industry in the process.
It seems that DJs have a clear vision for change while other retailers choose to stay silent, but that’s not to say the retailer hasn’t shouldered its fair share of criticism in the past. In 2013, DJs were thrown into a heated fast-fashion debate regarding their partnership with Mango, a Spanish label with direct links to the Rana Plaza tragedy. But rather than cutting ties with such brands, David Jones now wants to champion accountability among its suppliers, which means enforcing the standards laid out in their Ethical Sourcing Program and Supplier Code of Conduct. Change is evident in this arena too: the company recently received a nod when management signed onto the Cotton Pledge, demanding traceability from suppliers who must avoid using un-sustainably grown cotton from Uzbekistan whenever possible.
Not surprisingly, fashion accounts for 65% of David Jones’ business, but this new ethical promise doesn’t stop at garments and accessories. The retailer wants to see standards shift right across the board, including in the cosmetics and electronics departments – which could be an even tougher battle ground to fight on. Will DJs meet its target or will some brands fail to get on board? What consequences will there be for non-compliant suppliers, and will DJs set a date to achieve these goals by? Only one thing’s for sure: there are now more than 1,600 DJs-stocked brands that have a new impetus to change for the better, and that can’t be a bad thing.
Image via Germaine Leong.
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“My piece of advice for makers and designers? Run your own race… make sure your key decisions stay anchored in your brand’s core beliefs.”
- Bec Bligh
Quick show of hands: who’s opened a water bottle expecting a refreshing sip… and instead been greeted by the unmistakable whiff of uh-oh?
Because for something that follows us everywhere (desk, car, hikes, yoga…), the humble drink bottle is strangely prone to becoming a science experiment. Hard-to-clean corners and gaskets. Mystery smells. Bec Bligh and her husband Tim know it well. A six-month sailing trip along the Queensland coast left them with a lifetime of memories and one stubborn annoyance: mouldy water bottles they couldn’t properly clean.
So they did something about it.
Enter @EverVessel. Thoughtfully designed borosilicate glass and stainless steel bottles that keep things beautifully simple: durable materials, wide openings, easy-to-clean parts and none of the techy gimmicks that tend to age badly. Turns out simplicity, done well, is pretty powerful stuff. (Their many design awards agree!)
And lately they’ve added a little extra delight: the Artist Series, where creatives like Paola Castro, Ben Miners and Martin Thompson transform these everyday companions into tiny travelling artworks. There are more colabs in the works, too: hydration, but make it joyful! 🎨💧
We chatted with Bec about the sailing trip that started it all, the philosophy behind Ever Vessel, and why the most sustainable product is often just the one you keep using.
Tap the link in our bio to read the full conversation. 🚰
#EverVessel #ReusableWaterBottle
Pull up a chair… there’s room at this table!
For the first time, Feast for Freedom is bringing people together for a spectacular long-table dinner as part of the Melbourne Food & Wine Festival.
A Longer Table is exactly what it sounds like: one beautiful shared table inside the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre (@Asrc1), piled with generous dishes inspired by this year’s hero cooks, Noha and Nige.
From 6 to 9pm on Wednesday, 25 March, this is what you can expect:
🍽 A three-course shared feast
🍷 Matched drinks
🎶 Live entertainment
✨ A room full of good humans
Your ticket doesn’t just buy you a delicious dinner. It supports the ASRC’s vital work and helps create a fairer future for people seeking asylum.
Seats are limited, and long tables have a way of filling up quickly – head to @MelbFoodAndWine’s website to book now: feastforfreedom.org.au/mfwf
#FeastForFreedom #MelbourneFoodAndWineFestival #LongTableDinner #FoodForChange
Sew versatile! 🪡
Another great make from Lisa from @SunnySewsEveryday:
My #PeppermintWaratahWrapDress is finished and I’m so proud of it. It has been designed not to flap open and flash your pants in the wind, so I feel confident it will be a great wheelchair or standing dress in English weather.
#PeppermintPatterns #WrapDress #WrapDressPattern
Frame your face with the Peppermint Bucket Hat!
Stay safe and stylish in the sun with your very own self-sewn and self-drafted wide-brimmed bucket hat. This beginner-friendly sew is perfect for a sunny day. Get out your pencils – this pattern is created using equations and maths!
This DIY project was featured in Issue 53 and now you can access it for the lovely low price of only $5.
Sun-safe chic is always in style. ☀️
Find it via the link in our bio!
Photos: @KelleySheenan
#PeppermintPatterns #PeppermintBucketHat #BucketHat #BucketHatPattern #DIY
✨ INSTANT CLASSIC ✨
The Peppermint Myrtle Shift Dress is a beginner-friendly make with a few special details based on the ever-stylish shift shape – the perfect dress you need in your wardrobe right now!
Myrtle cuts above the knee with options to customise the length. Don’t think she’s reserved for hot weather either: try a heavier-weight fabric to turn your Myrtle into a pinafore-style garment for layering.
For our fabrics we chose two from our lovely sewing partner @Karmme_Apparel – the bold Rottnest Stripes in a lightweight, soft-drape cotton, and the quality linen in the handpainted Mexico Collection.
Get making the Myrtle – the only question is, can you stop at just one?
Link in bio 🪡
Fabric: @Karmme_Apparel
Sewist: @Laura_The_Maker
Photos: @KelleySheenan
Models: @SerahSews and @Pins_And_Tonic
Location: @ShareTheDignityAustralia
#PeppermintMyrtleShiftDress #PeppermintPatterns
It’s time to Feast!
Some recipes travel a long way before they land on your table to delight your taste buds. This year’s Feast for Freedom invites us to gather our friends, cook something delectable and raise funds for the incredible work of the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre (@Asrc1) while we’re at it.
The 2026 Feast features recipes shared by two remarkable cooks: Noha, who brought the flavours of Palestine with her when she arrived in Australia, and Nige, a Sri-Lankan Tamil cook whose journey with food began in the most unexpected of places.
You can host your own Feast up until 30 April – simply register online and get planning! Host a dinner, organise a workplace lunch, or gather your community… However you do it, the idea is simple: cook, connect and celebrate the cultures and stories that shape Australia.
Want to find out more? Head to the link in bio to meet Noha and Nige, learn more about their stories, and discover a delicious recipe to try.
#FeastForFreedom #PeppermintMagazine #FoodForGood #ASRC
