Nina Gbor: Eco Styles

Fashion, activism, climate justice, and women’s empowerment for Nina Gbor, they’re all together in one powerful mission. In a world where fashion trends change faster than the seasons, Nina Gbor is choosing to slow things down for the planet, for people, and for purpose. As the Circular Economy & Waste Director at The Australia Institute, and founder of Eco Styles, Nina wants to build a fashion system that cares deeply about sustainability and real impact.

She's one of Australia’s most respected sustainability advocates and climate activists and also a powerful voice on fashion’s role in the climate crisis, equity for garment workers, and how individual choices can ripple into systemic change. Her work spans education, activism, and grassroots engagement and at the heart of it all is a belief that fashion can be a force for good.

More Than an Advocate - An Educator, Leader & Visionary

Nina wears many hats quite literally, and stylishly. She is known for combining academic knowledge with practical wisdom. She’s been invited to give guest lectures at universities, and her insights on the intersection of climate justice, overconsumption, circular economies, and sustainable style are widely respected. 

She’s particularly vocal about:

- Fashion’s role in climate change
- Australia’s high clothing consumption (second-largest in the world)
- Worker rights, especially in global supply chains
- And empowering women through accessible, sustainable style

Whether she’s speaking on a panel, running a community workshop, or styling secondhand clothing into runway-worthy looks, Nina empowers others to rethink what they wear, why they wear it, and what that choice really means for the environment and the people behind the product. Here's a fun fact - her style icons are the legendary Audrey Hepburn and Grace Kelly.

Eco Styles: Styling for the Circular Economy

Through her platform Eco Styles, Nina is working with schools, media platforms, and individuals, where she helps develop systems-level solutions to reduce waste and promote sustainable fashion that’s accessible, and stylish. Eco Styles is grounded in the idea that style doesn’t have to cost the earth. It’s about using what we already have.

One of Nina’s powerful mantras is:

"Getting Off the Fashion TRENDmill"

It’s a phrase she coined to challenge the unsustainable cycle of constant buying, discarding, and trend-chasing, a cycle that’s harmful to the environment and also exploitative to workers across the global supply chain.

The Power of the Clothes Swap

If there’s one thing Nina believes in, it’s the magic of clothes swaps. Sustainable style hacks to demos, her workshops through her initiative 'Clothes, Swap & Style,' show people how to restyle what they already own, with purpose. And yes, clothes swaps are her superpower.

She’s been hosting clothing swaps for over 10 years, and each one is an experience. Through workshops, public events, and hands-on demonstrations, Nina has built a blueprint for what she calls "ethical restyling" helping people see that fashion is about meaning.

No Fast Fashion Clothes Swap

In this innovative swap concept, Nina set a new standard, one that filters out low-quality, fast fashion pieces (especially ultra-cheap brands), so that swap events remain filled with quality, long-lasting, ethical garments. It’s her way of protecting the integrity of swap culture and stopping landfill overflow before it begins.

War on Waste Swaps & Restyle Challenges

Nina teaches how to style one garment five different ways, and challenges participants to explore versatility in their wardrobes. One reel even shows a "Style One Garment Three Ways" challenge proving that creativity doesn’t require consumption.

And because knowledge is power, she also teaches others how to host their own clothing swaps.

A Bold Voice Against Fast Fashion

Nina doesn’t mince words when it comes to fast fashion. She regularly speaks out about the ultra-fast pace of production like brands pushing out 4,000 new items a day, racking up $10 billion plus in global sales while fueling toxic overconsumption and exploitation. She expresses her thoughts on the reality of how these brands target young consumers, flood the market with disposable clothes, and create a vicious cycle of low-cost, low-value, high-impact fashion that ends up in landfills within weeks.

Through podcasts, panel, or public talk, Nina delivers powerful insights. 

- Exhausted by Fashion’s Trend Cycles?
- The Perils of Overconsumption & Responsible Fashion

In these conversations, she breaks down the toxic loop of trend-chasing and emotional burnout. How secondhand and vintage fashion offer variety and stories to explore. The importance of asking - Who made this? How long will it last? What’s it made of? Why we must hold brands accountable for their impact on deforestation, biodiversity loss, and labour injustice. She’s an advocate for GOTS, Fair Trade, and high textile standards, and often calls out greenwashing, especially when brands use buzzwords like "eco-friendly" while doing the bare minimum.

Nina believes that fashion should never come at the cost of the planet or the people who make our clothes. Her work through community restyling events, education, or media engagement, she’s creating a world where sustainable fashion must not be a niche.

A world where trends don’t own us. Where clothes live many lives. And where looking good doesn’t have to mean harming the planet or the people on it.