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Ethical Fashion Initiative

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What we do

How we work

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Contact Us

What we work

ITC website

ITC TOOLS

How we work

ITC website

ITC TOOLS

Stories and News

ITC website

ITC TOOLS

our business model

Social Enterprises,
co-created with artisans from marginalised communities.

We partner with artisans and their communities to build social enterprises: ethical business structures with a people-planet-profit mandate. Hand in hand with circular production practices, this business model empowers the artisans, as the stakeholders who create the value being traded, to take ownership of their futures while promoting sustainable growth.

efi principles
The Social Enterprise

EFI experts help skilled artisan craft collectives organise into the enterprise structure, develop production capacity & skills, and improve their business administration skills in finance, production, marketing and environmental stewardship. With EFI’s support, these artisan-driven enterprises train youth, build skills and productivity capacity, improve resilience and access new markets, creating more meaningful, fair & empowering jobs for their communities.

Rectangle 64-4
The Community

Our focus is marginalised communities where sustainable trade is transformative, particularly for women & youth. We partner with local artisans to support skills development and assist with growing access to global markets for their products, all through the local social enterprise. Over time, the well-established social enterprises become production hubs for small surrounding community groups and micro-businesses. They provide managerial support, capacity building training, workspace, logistics and other support small producers need to become active participants in the formal economy.

2024 - Burkina Faso - Karl Lagerfeld AZPF - Drabo
The Artisan

Our primary stakeholder is the artisan — the skilled producers pouring heart, creativity and excellence into the practice and preservation of craftsmanship. The value artisans create for fashion and the creative industries represents a win-win opportunity, where dignified work meets creative results that separate our partner brands from the fashion pack.

efi in action
Kenya
Building Capacity and Creating Jobs
Our experts help small businesses in developing economies to reach their full potential, building business skills to make them stronger, more competitive, able to create more and better jobs. A leading voice in sustainable and ethical fashion, EFI also encourages debate and innovation, driving positive change in the industry.
From Kabul to Bamako
Supporting the Creative Industries
More than just markers of who we are, culture and identity are also amazing engines for development. We work with entrepreneurs in the creative industries to build business skills, monetize creativity, export cultural products and create jobs in theatre, cinema, art and design.
Rectangle 64-5
Boosting Green Business
We actively choose partners sensitive to the environment. In Uzbekistan and Burkina Faso, our silk and cotton social enterprise partners use natural dyes to minimise water pollution. Our brand clients want shorter, greener supply chains and circular production, which we offer through our network partners like our Kenyan partner that regenerates used textiles.
efi principles
The Social Enterprise
EFI experts help skilled artisan craft collectives organise into the enterprise structure, develop production capacity & skills, and improve their business administration skills in finance, production, marketing and environmental stewardship. With EFI’s support, these artisan-driven enterprises train youth, build skills and productivity capacity, improve resilience and access new markets, creating more meaningful, fair & empowering jobs for their communities.
The Community
Our focus is marginalised communities where sustainable trade is transformative, particularly for women & youth. We partner with local artisans to support skills development and assist with growing access to global markets for their products, all through the local social enterprise. Over time, the well-established social enterprises become production hubs for small surrounding community groups and micro-businesses. They provide managerial support, capacity building training, workspace, logistics and other support small producers need to become active participants in the formal economy.
The Artisan
Our primary stakeholder is the artisan — the skilled producers pouring heart, creativity and excellence into the practice and preservation of craftsmanship. The value artisans create for fashion and the creative industries represents a win-win opportunity, where dignified work meets creative results that separate our partner brands from the fashion pack.
efi in action
Building Capacity and Creating Jobs
Our experts help small businesses in developing economies to reach their full potential, building business skills to make them stronger, more competitive, able to create more and better jobs. A leading voice in sustainable and ethical fashion, EFI also encourages debate and innovation, driving positive change in the industry.
Supporting the Creative Industries
More than just markers of who we are, culture and identity are also amazing engines for development. We work with entrepreneurs in the creative industries to build business skills, monetize creativity, export cultural products and create jobs in theatre, cinema, art and design.
Boosting Green Business
We actively choose partners sensitive to the environment. In Uzbekistan and Burkina Faso, our silk and cotton social enterprise partners use natural dyes to minimise water pollution. Our brand clients want shorter, greener supply chains and circular production, which we offer through our network partners like our Kenyan partner that regenerates used textiles.
EFI's IMPACT
OUR STORIES

Lost in the desert, rediscovered through fashion in Burkina Faso

NEWS & PRESS

Spinning change: Finding opportunity through cotton in Burkina Faso

NEWS & PRESS

Weaving the future in Burkina Faso

Please contact us by emailing efashion@intracen.org

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The Ethical Fashion Initiative is a programme of the International Trade Centre, a joint agency of the United Nations and the World Trade Organization.

 

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