Crafted to Care: Walking Protest by Madeline Butel
Madeline Butel is the founder of Walking Protest, a fashion practice grounded in creative expression, material exploration, and a commitment to environmental responsibility. With a focus on transparent supply chains, fair working conditions, and regenerative design, she approaches fashion as both a craft and a tool for education. Through Walking Protest, Madeline develops garments that embody sustainable principles and invite people to rethink how clothing can impact—and ultimately support—ecosystems, soils, waterways, and communities.
Walking Protest emphasizes sustainability and circularity. Can you share a specific example of how you design for circularity—whether it’s through material choices, production processes, or end-of-life solutions for your pieces?
Circularity and sustainability are etched into every decision and cog of forming our supply chains. One of the biggest ways I try to adhere to this value is through the design and sourcing stage. I find this is really the foundation from which the rest of your collection sprouts and has a huge effect on your product's overall impact. For me, prioritizing only using natural fibers that will break down is very important, alongside researching (which I could do for hours and hours) the origins of the textile I am using, its impact when growing, the chemicals potentially used, impact on the farmers, etc., right through to the finished piece of fabric. Alongside this, it's important to note the end life of a garment, as this too can be affected throughout the design stages. Making garments with high-quality, natural haberdashery such as labels, elastics, and threads will not only help keep the piece wearable for longer, but it will also ensure it breaks down quicker should it end up in landfill one day. Through developing our first collection, I have learned so much about what the words "circularity" and "sustainable" mean to me and am excited to continue exploring this in new collections, researching new innovations to help keep clothing out of landfill and utilize natural surroundings.
Many brands collaborate for visibility, but meaningful partnerships go deeper. What criteria do you use to decide who to work with, and how do you ensure collaborations align with your values of sustainability and craftsmanship?
I really love this question because it's something I have struggled with immensely when marketing my business. Understanding where you stand on a values basis in a market that responds very well to current techniques is hard and something I am still fine-tuning. For me, I like to work with people who inspire audiences and are leading the way in solutions, innovations, and knowledge in bringing forward education for our community. Alongside this, I like working with people who are highly influential in the fashion space and have a following of people who love to discover new clothing, as this can really capture a broad market of consumers whom we can then gently funnel through layers of education towards fashion's impact, who may never have known how detrimental it can be. This is where our 'customer journey' process is so much more time-intensive and layered than other businesses. Our clothing really is used as the curiosity piece and hook to then garner interest in a bright, lively environment, where we can then start to gently educate and hopefully shift perspectives. Our clothing really does so much more than give you something to wear, and our strategy in this space is ever-evolving.
Growing up and working in Australia means being exposed to both Asian and European influences. Can you share how this cultural mix has influenced your design philosophy, material sourcing, or production techniques?
I'm so inspired by other cultures in places like Peru, Africa, India, Turkey, Mexico—the list goes on and on. To say I have been influenced by Australia alone wouldn't be appropriate, because truly, I have always been found combing through old travel books, textiles, and photography from countries all around the world, which have really shaped my style and choices when it comes to textiles and color.
Every WP piece holds energy. From the women who sew each garment with love to the textiles that are grown with care, there’s an emotional connection woven into the fabric. Our clothes are meant to be worn for years, through all stages of life, and passed on. We want people to feel the value in what they wear — both emotionally and ethically.
I am fascinated by the incredible artisanal talent and use of natural surroundings present within cultures. I appreciate small details of hand embroidery, hand-loomed fabrics, hand-dyeing... anything that emphasizes the art behind our clothing, and this is very much evident within WP's collections. My ultimate goal is to travel the world and meet all of these incredible artisans in person, see how they work with their land, and how we can create unique, bespoke items of clothing to love for years this way—looking backwards to go forwards.
At ILANGA, we focus on modifying perspectives around sustainability and material use. What does “modifying perspectives” mean to you in the context of Walking Protest, and how do you challenge conventional thinking through your work?
The meaning of this is constantly evolving for me. Sometimes I need to remember to sit back and realize I am just a 26-year-old woman who still has so much to learn when it comes to the broader scope of "perspectives" in this world. I have found my compassion for the human race has grown rapidly since starting WP because truly, everybody has such a different set of needs and circumstances in life, so trying to ignite a fire as loud as mine within others toward sustainability and the climate crisis needs to be handled in the right way. To give you a short answer, we challenge conventional thinking gently. There's enough fear and negative emotions dealt with in a day for most individuals, and I find trying to push a scary issue onto others out of anger or intensity will just cause them to shut down and turn away—the opposite of what we are trying to achieve. Fashion is our vessel to gently educate our community in a bright, lively, inspiring, and non-judgmental world toward a new way of thinking, an altered state of consuming, and a more intimate connection with the Earth, which gives us life.
Many brands talk about community, but real connection comes from offering tangible value. How do you ensure that the garments and experiences you create serve a deeper purpose for your community—whether in terms of function, emotional connection, or impact?
You can feel the love, dedication, and energy gone into each garment when holding it at WP. This, for me, is the greatest value—you're wearing a piece that has had many other lives before you and will have more afterward. As consumers, we are a part of this lifecycle and have an active role to play in its impact. How do we create this connection, energy, and value? The hands that make the garments—being the most talented and beautiful women—who put so much love into each piece, the textiles being grown in a way that can help restore the Earth it sprouts from, and the final piece being designed in a way that means you can wear it for years and years to come, in any context, with pride. Providing long-term and immediate value for a piece in which you have invested, alongside a beautiful connection to it and the hands that made it.
What is the biggest challenge you face in making Walking Protest truly sustainable? Is it sourcing materials, production scalability, consumer mindset, or something else? How are you tackling this challenge?
Sustainability, to me, means different things for different people. I wouldn’t call WP sustainable because I believe making something that isn’t absolutely necessary is never 100% sustainable; however, I would call it sustainably founded and minded. Material sourcing is so important—checking everything to do with the final product: where it was made, how, what chemicals were used, what dyes were used, what the working conditions were, and whether it will break down, etc. Scalability is a fantastic thing to touch on. Scalability in the fashion industry isn’t sustainable—it can’t be with the amount of clothing that's annually produced and how much we currently have already in existence. So, when it comes to this for us, the direction has always been keeping our collections small and growing outwards—not upwards (something you'll have to stick around to see). I’d say the current biggest challenge is visibility in an already saturated market and communicating the value behind each piece to foster an audience willing to invest more money in their clothing. These tie in with consumer mindset and are slow wheels to turn, although I have hope that with time and consistency, we will become more and more visible, and our philosophies will be carried broader.
In the next five to ten years, what do you hope to see change in the fashion industry regarding sustainability and circular design? What role do you see Walking Protest playing in shaping that future?
Policies, compliances, and legislations all coming into effect. Reading about the EU's Policy Matrix excites me, and I just pray it truly sets in stone a new standard for the industry. Brands need to do better, and for those that may not have the inclination to do so out of morality, they need to be held accountable through new policies if we are going to see any change. Alongside this, more education and consumer awareness. It’s hard to make people see the effects of this industry, and it’s easy to turn a blind eye to it. I wish for people to undertake their own journeys in connecting back to our Earth and, consequently, change their habits as a result—not just within fashion but in all facets of life. I see WP’s part to play in this as being a bridge between people and clothing, and brands and clothing. An inspiration for a new way forward. Providing that education piece, community, and roadmap to a different perspective, way of living, and values. Taking our audience along for the ‘walk’ with us, learning and challenging our current ways with every step.
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