Mindful Fashion New Zealand has officially changed its name to Fashion & Textiles New Zealand (FTNZ). The Auckland-based group says the new name is not a change in direction. It is a clearer signal of what the organisation has always been trying to do: give a major national industry the voice it has long been missing.
Every day, 143 tonnes of clothing gets dumped in New Zealand landfills. At the same time, the country’s fashion and textile sector quietly contributes $7.8 billion to the national economy, employs more than 76,000 people, and pays out $4.4 billion in wages. It is one of Aotearoa’s biggest industries. It has also been one of its least recognised.
That is exactly the problem a rebranded industry organisation is now setting out to fix.
The Quiet Economic Powerhouse Nobody Talks About
Chief Executive Jacinta FitzGerald has a phrase for it. Fashion and textiles, she says, are one of Aotearoa’s “quiet economic powerhouses.” The data backs her up. According to the organisation’s Threads of Tomorrow research, produced with EY New Zealand, the sector made up 1.9% of New Zealand’s GDP in 2023. Women make up 78% of the workforce, making it one of the more meaningful drivers of women’s economic participation in the country.
And yet, FitzGerald says, the industry has consistently been overlooked in economic and policy conversations. It is viewed through a cultural lens when it deserves to be seen as an economic one too.
A Sector Under Real Pressure
Recognition is not the only challenge. The industry is navigating rising costs, ongoing supply chain disruption, and growing scrutiny over how clothing is made, used, and disposed of. The waste numbers are hard to ignore. More than 52,000 tonnes of clothing end up in New Zealand landfills every year. That is around 143 tonnes every single day. Addressing that requires the kind of coordinated, industry-wide thinking that FTNZ says it is now better positioned to lead.
Seven Years of Groundwork
The name change comes after seven years of steady work under the Mindful Fashion New Zealand banner. During that time, the organisation grew from a connector within a fragmented sector into a recognised industry convenor with a network of more than 120 member companies and a working relationship with government.
It has produced landmark research, including the Threads of Tomorrow report, and run industry programmes like the Circular Design Awards, which focuses on building momentum toward more circular and sustainable ways of working across the value chain.
The new name reflects that broader scope. Fashion & Textiles New Zealand now explicitly covers the full journey from fibre and materials innovation through to manufacturing, design, retail, and circular systems.
“Mindful Fashion New Zealand has always been about more than fashion,” FitzGerald said. “This isn’t a shift in direction, it’s a clearer expression of what we’ve been building for years. A connected, future-focused fashion and textile industry recognised for its economic value, its cultural contribution, and its ability to lead in innovation and circular thinking. We’re proud of what Mindful Fashion New Zealand has built, the relationships, the proof points, the collective belief, and we’re taking that forward. Fashion & Textiles New Zealand is simply a better reflection of the breadth of the industry we serve, and the opportunity in front of us.”
An Open Invitation to the Industry
FTNZ Chair Juliette Hogan is direct about what she wants to see happen next. “This is really just an open invitation to our industry,” she said. “If you’re part of New Zealand’s fashion and textiles community, we’d love you to be part of shaping what comes next. There’s a real opportunity here, and it will take all of us, working together, to make the most of it.”
The organisation says the more representative it becomes, the stronger its collective voice. That matters when it comes to pushing for policy recognition, investment, and long-term support for the sector’s global competitiveness.
The next major public moment for Fashion & Textiles New Zealand is the Threads of Tomorrow Summit, taking place in Auckland this June. Early bird tickets are on sale now.
