On Wednesday 26th April, Mindful Fashion New Zealand held their Annual General Meeting to discuss progress and actions made over the last 12 months and their plans for 2023. As a member of the Board of Directors for MFNZ, it has been a year filled with challenges, immense growth and many accomplishments.
 
As we head into the new financial year, I am proud to announce that I have been named Chair of the Board of Directors for MFNZ. 

 

 
Firstly I want to thank the board for everything achieved so far – especially considering the success of MFNZ is largely based on the founders, board members, and the chair volunteering their time. I would also like to thank James Walker, our former chair, both personally, on behalf of the board & on behalf of all of the MFNZ members for his contribution to date. James has played an integral role in bringing MFNZ to life for which we are all so grateful. I also want to acknowledge MFNZ’s Programme Director, Jacinta FitzGerald, for her endless time and advocacy. Jacinta’s inspirational drive for change, and dedication to the MFNZ strategy, will be the catalyst to MFNZ's long-term success of innovation.  

I want to share with you my motivation taking on the role of chair. Historically the NZ fashion industry has been notoriously competitive with huge barriers to entry for emerging designers. This makes the vision and mission of MFNZ, to create and foster a sustainable and thriving fashion industry in Aotearoa NZ that more important. Despite being in competition what we all know is that together we can achieve more, ensuring this is an industry that thrives, than what we could achieve alone.

I love that this industry can be a ‘leader of change’ in this current climate where it is widely known that individuals, businesses & industries all need to work together to achieve a greater good - for our people, for our planet and for our collective prosperity. This is why I am so grateful to both Kate Sylvester and Emily Miller-Sharma for being bold enough to come together and found MFNZ when they did. 

It has been an honour to be involved with MFNZ at the board level but evermore now so as the chair of the board. Going forward I am committed to focusing of my time on giving back to an industry that has already given me so much.  

 

 
The vision of MFNZ excites me - ‘a clothing and textiles ecosystem in Aotearoa NZ where business, people and nature all thrive'. The mission to unite the industry to create an innovative, full circle and thriving future should be celebrated.  
 
I am excited about the array of backgrounds and opinions who will be around the MFNZ board table this year. Everyone will be able to contribute and carry MFNZ into the future in their own unique way.

We will drive change - we will inspire, we will educate and we will be a catalyst for new ways of doing things - ways that are better.  
 
Together, we are greater than the sum of our parts. 


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More information about Mindful Fashion New Zealand can be found here >