Sustainable clothing: A simple success story

Dave Fraser, owner and founder of men's clothing label Mr Simple, thinks all clothing brands "should just be sustainable".

"I definitely don't want to bang the drum that we are some sort of hippie label from Byron Bay," he says.

"It shouldn't be something you have to make as a big sale pitch – it potentially should be taken for granted even though there are a lot of brands out there making questionable products."

Mr Simple considers itself a "responsible company", with around 80 per cent of its range using organic and recycled fabrics – namely organic cotton and swim shorts made from recycled water bottles.

Perhaps Fraser's focus on sustainability is part of the reason why its turnover has almost doubled in the past two years to $18 million.

At the moment though, Fraser is "trying to keep a lid on the growth".

"It doesn't feel like it's grown that crazily – we're just opening shops where they make sense."

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Mr Simple plans to align all of its catalogue with the Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS) within two years.

Claire Beale, program manager of the bachelor of arts textile design degree at RMIT in Melbourne and the Design Institute of Australia's national president says the GOTS is a "good global standard". Read more