Sustainability and social responsibility

Sustainability

Willie Weston is committed to ensuring our products impact the environment in the most sustainable way possible. We continually work to minimise the environmental impact of our products wherever possible.

  • The majority of our products are printed to order, meaning we produce little to no wastage or surplus product.

  • 90% of our products are printed locally in Australia by Australian-owned businesses, meaning they have a low carbon footprint and support local manufacturing.

  • All products are printed using water-based inks rather than disperse dyes, so inks can be disposed of without harm. All products are printed without the use of any water.

  • Our wallpapers are printed with eco-solvent inks.

  • Our printing processes involve no VOCs (volatile organic compounds) or PFAS (perfluoroalkyl substances).

  • All products have long life spans as a result of their durability.

  • Our High Performance / Outdoor fabric is Oeko-tex certified (Standard 100), which means it does not contain any harmful products.

  • Our Heavy Duty Vinyl Wallpaper is PVC free and printed with eco-solvent inks.

  • We bank with Bank Australia, who are committed to ethical banking and lending practices.

  • Read more about our recycling initiatives here.

Social responsibility

Since 2015, Willie Weston has pursued our ambition to celebrate the diverse artistic output of First Nations artists and to support the integration of First Nations culture, perspectives and story-telling into the built environment. We are the first, and only, commercial textiles business in Australia to exclusively offer products developed in partnership with First Nations artists.

Willie Weston exists to provide meaningful income for artists, often living in remote places. Fair and equitable payments have always been at the core of our business. We pay artists a fee for every metre of fabric or wallpaper produced, rather than a one-off licensing fee. These fees are paid quarterly based on the meterage sold by each artist in that quarter.

In addition to these payments, artists receive a share of our net profits at the end of each financial year. For the past three years, we have returned 30% of our net profits to the artists we work with.

We are proud members of the Indigenous Art Code, which exists to preserve fair, transparent and ethical trade between First Nations artists and businesses.