Queen of Raw, an online platform for sustainable and headstock fabrics is set to launch in Australia. The newly launched market space invites designers, retailers and consumers to buy and sell unused textiles on its global platform.

The UN Conference on Trade and Development has estimated that the fashion industry contributes to over 1.2 billion tonnes of carbon emissions every year, claiming a second place among the largest polluters in the world. They are also largely responsible for unfathomable water wastage. Stephanie Benedetto, the co-founder of Queen of Raw is trying to fight these statistics to bring a positive change in the industry.

The family business has an experience that reaches higher than a century, Benedetto has witnessed the problem firsthand and has decided to build a solution. She has established a platform where companies can recapture value from their wasted materials rather than burning them, allowing clothing manufacturers, designers, upholsters, and students to access premium fabrics at a fraction of their retail price.

The Queen of Raw utilises the latest blockchain technology and machine learning/AI to match buyers with sellers. The unused textiles are sold rapidly and with ease at low prices allowing designers to procure materials that they never had before.

The Queen of Raw platform also facilitates sellers to map, measure, and trace their textile waste in real-time, providing actionable data to help them minimise their waste streams moving forward. Benedetto is trying to reintroduce the $120 billion worth of unused textiles back to life. 

Benedetto stated that if we did not make a change, by 2025, two-thirds of the entire world’s population would face freshwater shortage from textile production alone. She added that Queen of Raw has already saved over 1 billion gallons of water while saving millions of dollars in businesses with supply chain efficiency. Benedetto explained that this was the key focus and an optimised supply chain was the solution for people, the planet, and for-profit.

With the platform launching into the Australian market, Benedetto is optimistic and elated about the future impact local designers and retailers can make to minimise textile waste, water consumption, and carbon emissions created by the fashion industry.