THE CLOTH & CO. WOMAN
INSPIRED BY SERIES
Welcome to our Inspired By Series, a celebration of connections with like-minded individuals, spotlighting inspiring women, entrepreneurs, and change-makers who are shaping a positive impact in their communities.
MEET GRACE FORREST
In this edition, we had the privilege of chatting with the extraordinary Grace Forrest, a human rights advocate whose tireless efforts are transforming lives. As the Founding Director of Walk Free, Grace has dedicated her career to eradicating modern slavery and creating a world where freedom is a universal right. Through initiatives like the Global Slavery Index, Walk Free has become a beacon of hope for millions, shining a light on the hidden injustices that persist today.
Grace’s approach aligns deeply with Cloth & Co.’s mission of creating impact through purpose-driven action. From advocating for the ethical treatment of people to championing sustainability in every facet of her work, Grace exemplifies the values that define a true Cloth & Co. woman. Her commitment to justice, humanity, and building a better future resonates far beyond the headlines, inspiring each of us to consider how we can contribute to meaningful change.
It was a privilege to sit down with Grace to explore her journey, her unwavering dedication to advocacy, and how small actions—when done with intention—can ripple out to create extraordinary impact.
We’ve been following your incredible work with great admiration and find your commitment to tackling modern slavery truly inspiring. Through this interview, we hope to shine a light on these important issues and educate others about how they can make a difference. We believe that by sharing your insights, we can help empower consumers to play a vital role in addressing and ultimately eradicating modern slavery. Your perspective is invaluable, and we’re excited to learn from you and spread awareness together. Most people don’t realise the impact of buying ultra-fast fashion.
What are the key risks associated with this trend and how does it contribute to modern slavery?
Thank you for having me!
It’s a great thing when we can hold our love of fashion together with much needed conversations about human rights and environmental issues that this industry is so imbedded with. The truth is, we cannot talk about one without the other. Modern slavery occurs today on a totally unprecedented scale. There are some 50 million people living in modern slavery worldwide, and fashion remains one of the highest at-risk industries.
While fast fashion, no doubt, is driving the exploitation of people throughout its supply chains, there are also many high street and luxury brands that fail to provide any information about the people making their clothes. Without this, we have little hope of ever building a fair and transparent fashion industry.
Exploitation is so intertwined with the fashion industry because of its transnational and opaque nature. The production of a single cotton t-shirt can touch on average, a hundred pairs of hands throughout its life. We know exploitation is occurring at every level of the supply chain; from the growing and picking of the cotton to textile spinning and dying, through to manufacturing and
packaging. This means modern slavery is so prevalent in the world today, it's as close as the shirt on your back. Unless a company can show you how they’re doing right by people and planet, you should absolutely assume exploitation is occurring within that brand. The reality is ethical production remains the exception, rather than the rule in the fashion industry.
The Global Slavery Index is such a powerful tool for understanding and addressing modern slavery. How has it changed the way people think about and act on this issue?
The Global Slavery Index (GSI), is the world’s most comprehensive dataset on measuring and understanding modern slavery. It measures the prevalence of modern slavery in over 160 countries and analyses how each of those governments responds to modern slavery (which includes forced labour, forced marriage, debt bondage, and state-imposed forced labour). It is a tool for both accountability and actions for governments and key industries, to better understand where exploitation is happening in their region and in the world.
When Walk Free was founded over a decade ago, the term ‘modern slavery’ was rarely used by leaders and was even illegal in some contexts. Now in its fifth edition, the GSI is used to inform international law, shape regional and national legislation to protect workers, influence business and investor behaviour to hold leaders accountable, and empower people with lived experience.
With each edition of the GSI, our understanding of modern slavery grows more accurate and comprehensive. While still largely misunderstood, modern slavery is increasingly part of consumer, policy and industry conversations.
Critically, the GSI includes the expertise of survivors of modern slavery, to inform the way people think and the way governments and businesses act in relation modern slavery. Without this benchmarking tool, governments, industries, and companies would still be able to operate with relative opaque immunity.
Winning the Roosevelt Freedom for Fear Award is such a significant achievement, congratulations. How does it feel to be recogniSed alongside such incredible figures, and what does this award mean for your work with Walk Free?
It was such an honour to receive the Freedom from Fear Award, an unbelievable moment shared with remarkable human rights experts, both on stage and those who came before me. I accepted this award on behalf of Walk Free—a majority-female team of statisticians, criminologists, lawyers, and business and human rights experts. This recognition belongs to everyone who has contributed to Walk Free’s journey to becoming a world-leading anti-slavery organisation. It reflects more than a decade of incredible work and signifies that modern slavery is an issue that can no longer be ignored or treated in isolation.
In recent years, there has been a growing focus on corporate responsibility within the fashion industry. How are brands evolving to tackle issues of exploitation and ensure fair treatment of workers? Do you believe we are making significant progress toward our goals, or is there still much work to be done?
We’ve seen (slow) progress in the fashion industry, with few significant changes. The conversation on sustainability is gaining momentum, with more brands and companies looking at their environmental impacts and contributions to the climate crisis. However, many businesses that claim to be “sustainable”, fail to include worker’s rights in this equation.
Industry-wide change isn’t an outlandish idea - increasing the price of the average garment by just 1% could ensure a living wage for workers in the supply chains of major Australian brands like Myer and Big W. Understanding the true cost of garments is the next critical step, nothing is ever just cheap; it always costs someone something. Equally, spending more money doesn’t always guarantee ethical production. What we need across the entire industry is visibility and basic working standards to ensure Australian consumers don’t unwittingly come into contact with modern slavery every day.
Consumers need accessible, transparent information about supply chains, including material origins and production conditions. This should be the base-line standard in 2024, and we cannot underestimate our* role (as consumers) in pushing for this information.
We all want to make a difference, but it can be hard to know where to start. What are some simple ways people can help fight modern slavery in their everyday lives?
Firstly, the most ethical wardrobe you can have is the one you already own. Rampant consumerism and convenience at any cost is driving the exploitation of people throughout the world. We should all proudly outfit repeat, buy much less, and support values aligned brands wherever we can.
Secondly, when you buy, ask questions about where and how your clothes are made. Even if you don’t get satisfactory answers, this curiosity signals to brands that we care - the more of us that ask, the more pressure it creates.
What inspires you when it comes to fashion?
I’m a big believer in pre-loved, vintage and second-hand clothing because whether we like it or not; garments last a lifetime. Whether in your closet, in landfill, or polluting a country like Ghana the items we buy will likely outlive us all. To quote the icon Vivienne Westwood “buy less, choose well, make it last” - I could not agree with this more.
This is part of the reason I try to find pieces from second-hand sources, but I also love it because I can find and hunt for truly unique items with their own backstories. On the rare occasion I do buy something new, it will be from a brand that proudly values the people in their supply chains, as well as their production impact on the planet. I also try to support Australian made and local craftsmanship wherever I can.
What are your go-to wardrobe foundational pieces?
I love a power suit.
I love a skivvy.
I love some unexpected colour, especially in my sunglasses!
What is the best piece of advice you’ve ever received/What’s a piece of advice you’d like to share?
I’m not sure it’s the best piece of advice I’ve ever been given, but I like have courage and be kind as a daily reminder.
Regarding fashion, I’d say if our feminism doesn’t include the people (mostly women) who make our clothes, then it isn’t feminism