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“The disruption is now, but the effects will be really visible in the next months,” said Simone Cipriani, founder and chief executive of the UN’s Ethical Fashion Initiative, which connects marginalised artisan communities with international brands.
Demand Destruction
As retailers across western markets have closed one by one, the blow back on suppliers has been swift and devastating.
“I have received emails from clients just asking me to stop shipments,” said Mostafiz Uddin, managing director of Bangladesh-based Denim Expert Ltd. “How can I pay my workers and take care of them… How do I pay the raw material supplier?”

Simone Cipriani, Head and Founder of the Ethical Fashion Initiative at the UN’s International Trade Centre, agrees this disruption could alter the future going forward. Speaking of retail, he states, “Bricks and mortar will come to an end. Outside of it being used purely as a display, cultural or happening space.” The need for a reduced physical presence of such events has also previously been highlighted by Extinction Rebellion, witnessing large numbers travelling the world to congregate and view products which will inevitably become mainly visible online. “Seasonality is also being questioned,” He continues, “Does it have the same meaning, in a world of climate change and erratic weather patterns?”

While brands and retailers in the western world scramble to cope with the business implications of the coronavirus pandemic and impending recession, the social and human fabric of whole communities in less fortunate settings is set to be literally wiped out. Order cancellations could see supply chains grinding to a halt in developing countries. The alarming consequences could be increases in migration, terrorism, human and drug trafficking as the delicate social structure of those communities tears apart.

The reality of supply chains favours the virus, not the people working in them. Labour in many fashion sourcing centres are characterized by poor health and safety conditions, workers living in high density settings, weak public health systems and low wages, often not capable of covering the basic needs of workers and their families.

Efforts towards sustainable practices have permeated almost every industry, including fashion, with many designers aiming to go green and creating ethical sartorial statements. Jeanne de Kroon’s Berlin-based label, Zazi Vintage, is a model for sustainable impact, releasing diverse collections created in collaboration with female artisanal communities around the world. Partnering with women in Afghanistan, India, Nepal, as well as the UN Ethical Fashion Initiative, De Kroon empowers women to support themselves economically and socially. “She is an example of a young woman who is dedicating her life to building a brand based on partnerships with women and artisans all over the world. She is fun, rebellious, and her smile is totally infectious,” Firth says. Zazi Vintage features traditional craftwork on luxury garments, with each collection spreading the diverse and inspiring stories of the communities involved in creating it. De Kroon sources her material transparently and mainly uses recycled or organic fabrics. One example is her signature Suzani coat, made from upcycled shearling, with all proceeds used to pay for girls’ education. Since she’s part of an industry that produces 10% of overall carbon emissions (according to the UN Environment Programme), De Kroon makes a point to provide sustainable alternatives that serve to develop its creators’ communities as well as consumers.

It’s too hard for us to choose one, but we were particularly excited to present the complete collection of our newly offered GOODEE-branded home accessories including pillows and carry totes. The GOODEE pillows are made entirely in Africa in collaboration with Ethical Fashion Initiative – the United Nations’ fair-trade division. Working with the EFI’s weaving cooperative in Burkina Faso, each limited-edition pillow celebrates color, texture, and the people who craft them.

Andreas also used recycled buttons, worked with Wastemark to change the way any waste would be handled, and used textiles woven (two metres a day) and then dyed in Burkina Faso with the Ethical Fashion Initiative.

Yes, fashion has adopted the language of sustainability and green stuff, but it is often a form of camouflage aimed at hiding the reality. An example of this is the way through which brands makes themselves visible to the public and conducts a part its business: through fashion weeks. They are moments of celebration and business, structured in an organisational form that has nothing of sustainable. They run one after the other, forcing industry staff to travel frantically from here to there, while producers work in emergency-like conditions to have products ready for the shows. In the meantime, consumers are bombarded by a mountain of images and faces of influencers, who do not speak about how goods are made or on their impact on people’s lives and on the planet. All this, while our planet risks extinction. Is this meaningful? Fashion weeks resembles the rites to celebrate Gods and Goddess in the late Roman Empire, when everything was tumbling down but people thought old beliefs could save them. The main goddess of this fashion world is Medusa, who transforms those who stare at her into stone (Medusa is also the image of a well-known fashion brand, but here I am not suggesting any direct link between my discourse and that brand).

Yes, fashion has adopted the language of sustainability and green stuff, but it is often a form of camouflage aimed at hiding the reality. An example of this smokescreen is fashion weeks. These displays are the way in which brands are celebrated and publicised, and the way in which they conduct part of their business. Their organisational structure is not sustainable. They run one after the other, forcing industry staff to travel frantically from here to there across the glob, while producers work in emergency-like conditions to have garments show-ready. In the meantime, consumers are bombarded by a mountain of images and faces of influencers, who do not speak about how garments are made or about their impact on people’s lives and on the planet. All this, while our planet risks extinction. Is this meaningful?

Long before sustainability became trendy, the Ethical Fashion Initiative waved “goodbye to fast fashion” and introduced “a better way of producing”. Founder and director of EFI, Simone Cipriani, believes that the $2.4 trillion-a-year global industry has the power to change the world.

“It is extremely important to mobilise the power of this industry through its huge supply chain and to make it more equal and reduce poverty,” he says. “It gives work to 60 million people, the majority of whom are in the developing world”. But he says the industry is slow to realise its power because its business model squeezes suppliers. Its supply chain is organised to reduce the cost of labour as much as possible. This, he says, is where the mistake lies and he has developed a very different mode.

Simone is a connector. He spends as much time in Paris and Milan as he does in Afghanistan and Mali. He works with local African artisans in remote villages, and with big brands that dominate our local shopping malls. And he wouldn’t have it any other way. Simone has spent the past 10 years founding and building the Ethical Fashion Initiative (EFI), a programme of the International Trade Centre (ITC) and part of the World Trade Organization and the UN. EFI connects artisans in challenging, remote locations with global lifestyle brands, providing these marginalized artisan communities with access and opportunities in the international market. In his spare time (and on intercontinental flights), you’ll find Simone documenting his journeys via Instagram and reading voraciously.

« LES OPPORTUNITÉS SONT ICI » est une initiative qui met en relation les jeunes porteurs de projet avec des entrepreneurs, des incubateurs et des centres de formation dans le but de promouvoir l’innovation et l’esprit d’entreprise. Le projet a été conçu au Burkina Faso en 2018 par ITC-Ethical Fashion Initiative (@ethicalfashion) et financé par l’Union Européenne. Il vise à valoriser les immenses possibilités qui existent en Afrique et à transformer les jeunes demandeurs d’emploi en créateurs d’emplois.

We see collaborative projects everywhere in the fashion industry these days. Yet, we can never underestimate the power of cross-cultural projects in bringing fresh ideas to global audiences. FACE A-J (Fashion And Cultural Exchange Africa-Japan) is a new initiative between Japan and Africa produced by Awa’Tori, a Tokyo-based collective co-founded by Nigerian creative director Bukky Adejobi and Cameroonian-Japanese strategic partner Seiko Mbako. Under their slogan ‘Fashion Is Change. Fashion Can Change’, Awa’Tori is passionate about the African creative industry and committed to changing Africa’s under represented image in Japan.

Dieci anni fa ha lanciato un progetto di borse etiche create in Africa, e ama specificare che non è beneficenza ma lavoro…

Sì. Le borse sono prodotte da artigiani di Nairobi utilizzando solo materiali riciclati in collaborazione con l’Ethical fashion initiative dell’International trade centre (Itc), un organismo congiunto delle Nazioni Unite e dell’Organizzazione mondiale del commercio che sostiene il lavoro di migliaia di donne, residenti in comunità africane emarginate. Fra loro ci sono vedove, madri, vittime dell’Hiv.

‘Interdependence’ is produced by The World Production, with the patronage of the United Nations in Geneva, the World Meteorological Organization and the City of Milan, with the support of the DDC/DFAE (Swiss Direc­tion of Development and Cooperation/Ministry of Foreign Affairs), the EU/EFI/ITC (European Union/ Ethical Fashion Initiative/ International Trade Centre), GAIL (India) and SESC Sao Paulo (Brazil) among others.

The next screenings of ‘Interdependence’ will be at Cinema Anteo in collaboration with the City of Milan and Fondazione Cariplo on the 5th, 6th & 7th of Nov followed by the UN Première at the room of the General Assembly of the UN in Geneva on the 14th of Nov and at the UNFCC COP 25, Santiago Climate Change Conference in Santiago, Chile, on the 2nd & 3rd of Dec.

Légy üdvözölve a Casadei Etikus Társaságában: ez egy képzeletbeli privátklub, azzal a különbséggel, hogy minél több tagja van, annál jobb – itt a társadalmi változások, az etikus munka, az új erőforrások és a szépség létrehozásának új módjai kerülnek terítékre. A társaságon belül a Casadei indította a kézműves kollekciót, amelyet az Ethical Fashion Initiative-vel közösen dolgozott ki. (A szervezet alapítójával, Simone Ciprianival egyébként mi is készítettünk interjút.) Akinek esetleg nem ismerős a szervezet, az EFI úttörő munkát végez: a fenntartható divat szószólói, és fejlődő országok kézműves közösségeinek nyújtanak megélhetést, az alkotókat pedig a divatszcéna ismert, nagy neveivel kötik össze.

Tra le stanze irregolari di Palazzo Durini e del suo Giardino Segreto, spazio espositivo ed editoriale in pieno centro a Milano, si snodano i percorsi della mostra Rooze-Mabada [Per una Giornata di Pioggia], in scena fino al 15 novembre.

Curata da Gea Politi e Daniele Balice e realizzata in collaborazione con la ITC Ethical Fashion Initiative e l’Unione Europea con la media partneship di Flash Art, ha come protagonista un gruppo di artisti iraniani che qui presenta le proprie opere ai confini tra il video, la scultura, l’installazione, la pittura e la performance.

One would imagine Andreas Kronthaler’s latest collection for Vivienne Westwood would have Mozart’s stamp of approval. Inspired by the composer and the era, hats piled up in the style of the hairstyles of the eighteenth century, while corsets and skirts with flounces also made an appearance on the catwalk en masse. Kronthaler skilfully paired it all with punk elements for which the house of Westwood is famous. The son of a Tyrolean blacksmith and husband of Vivienne Westwood let the audience know the title of the show was “Rock me Amadeus.” And that he did. As 50s pin-ups also served as a historical reference which resulted in a collection that reminded more of a rock concert than a waltz.

“La collaborazione è frutto della continua ricerca che portiamo avanti per sviluppare collezioni sempre più innovative. Attraverso EFI, Ethical Fashion Initiative – ndr un programma dell’agenzia delle Nazioni Unite International Trade Center -, abbiamo potuto condividere la nostra expertise e gli stessi valori promuovendo il lavoro artigianale delle comunità in aree in via di sviluppo” – con queste parole Cesare Casadei, Direttore Creativo di Casadei, ci introduce alla mini capsule collection, presentata alla Milano Fashion Week di Settembre 2019, che unisce l’Italia al Burkina Faso, paese tra i più importanti produttori africani di cotone.

Casadei launched a sustainable collection
CASADEI showcased a brand new Artisanal collection, developed with the Ethical Fashion Initiative (EFI), which includes four styles using fabrics woven by women in Burkina Faso – one of the biggest producers of African cotton and the shoes feature a variety of textures, fabrics and colour.

Casadei made a strong statement about ethical fashion today at its Milan Fashion Week presentation.

The Italian label unveiled a capsule collection of nine styles for spring ’20 that use fabrics woven by women in Burkina Faso, Africa — an area known for its artisinal weaving and one of the biggest producers of African cotton.

The capsule was developed with the Ethical Fashion Initiative (EFI),which promotes sustainable fashion and the work of communities from developing countries by connecting big fashion names with local entities. EFI is a program of the International Trade Center, a joint agency of the United Nations and World Trade Organization. It has worked with companies big and small, from Adidas to luxury designer Aurora James.

Nel 2016 è arrivato via mare in Italia, più precisamente in Sicilia, è stato trasferito nell’hub regionale di Bologna e infine accolto dalla cooperativa sociale “Lai-momo”, a Lama di Reno, frazione del comune di Marzabotto. Poi il colpo di fortuna. Nel 2017 la cooperativa, in collaborazione con il programma “Ethical fashion initiative” dell’Onu e dell’Organizzazione mondiale del commercio, fonda una piccola start-up: la Cartiera, con sede nella casa dell’amministratore della vecchia cartiera di Marzabotto. L’obiettivo è produrre accessori di alto artigianato in pelle, favorendo l’inserimento lavorativo di richiedenti asilo, migranti e disoccupati.

This mythic landscape that set the scene for cult films like The Talented Mr. Ripley and Scandal in Sorrento is where two pixie-haired women have chosen to unveil a new right, and discover the Goooders universe, one of two pop-ups this summer (the other is in Paris at The Bristol Hotel) that aims to help people look good by doing good. Co-founder and co-CEO Caterina Occhio is inside the pop-up while her partner Eva Geraldine holds court on the terrace. The similarities don’t stop at their short crop. Both have romance in their eyes and some French cancan in their legs, as proven by spontaneous dancing later that evening. Moreover, they are both fiercely determined to fill today’s shopping bags with a dose of 21st century, UN-approved values.

Goodee has partnered with the Ethical Fashion Initiative (EFI), whose network of artisans in conflict-torn countries such as Mali and Burkina Faso are producing fabrics designed by Byron and Dexter Peart, to be featured as products on the site. “We regenerate the social capital of workers from very marginalised communities [by making them] permanent suppliers of international fashion and lifestyle brands,” says Simone Cipriani, UN officer, founder and head of the EFI. This, in turn, allows for environmental regeneration, such as the instalment of solar panels to heat water for the natural dyeing process carried out in Mali.

The launch of Goodee comes at a time when sustainability and ethical transparency are a growing concern among consumers yet a relatively untapped market in the luxury lifestyle space. According to sustainability consultancy Futerra, the market for ethical products and services in the UK alone is worth £81.3 billion (about $104.9 billion), growing over £40 billion since 2008. “Sustainable living for beginners” as a search term on Pinterest went up by 265% last year.

Sustainability is also a timely matter for policy and industry-wide action, with the UN Alliance For Sustainable Fashion launching in March 2019 in a bid to tackle the social and environmental harm of fashion, of which the EFI is a member agency.

Tout est passé au crible du code d’éthique (et d’esthétique) Goodee. La certification B-Corp, accordée aux sociétés commerciales répondant à des exigences sociétales, environnementales, de gouvernance et de transparence, est imminente. L’entreprise travaille également en collaboration avec l’Ethical Fashion Initiative, un programme lié à l’ONU. Ils mettent au point une gamme de matières textiles et d’objets pour la maison qui permettra aux artisans membres d’avoir un meilleur accès au marché mondial.

Hierfür arbeitet Jeanne mit Frauen in ländlichen Regionen in Indien, Usbekistan und Afghanistan zusammen und verwendet für ihre Kollektionen (die keine Kollektionen im klassischen Sinne sind, da sie keinem festen Turnus folgen), ausschließlich ausgesuchte Vintage-Stoffe aus den Regionen. Produziert wird dann eben soviel, wie der Stoff hergibt und mit Respekt vor der Umwelt und (und hier können sich so einige große Modehäuser eine Scheibe abschneiden) unter Einbeziehung der Frauen aus den Kulturen, von denen sich Jeanne für ihre Zazi Vintage Kollektionen inspirieren lässt. Heißt: Jede*r bekommt ein faires Stück vom Kuchen ab.

Für ihre neue Resort Collection 2019 hat Jeanne erstmal mit der Ethical Fashion Initiative der Vereinten Nationen zusammengearbeitet und gemeinsam mit Handwerkstätten in Afghanistan eine traumhafte Kollektion gefertigt, die auf den Spuren der legendären und sagenumwobenen Seidenstraße wandelt. Fair, nachhaltig und wegweisend. Logisch, dass wir bei diesem unterstützenswerten Konzept neugierig geworden sind und genauer bei Jeanne nachgefragt haben.

從消費者的角度來看，究竟什麼是更道德、更永續性的購物方式呢？這兩個詞彙絕對於當下最熱門的關鍵字，而其定義也密切關聯。「這兩者該被視為同義詞，」聯合國道德時尚協會負責人Simone Cipriani 這麼説。「道德必須兼顧永續性，無論在社會或環境層面。」 What exactly does it mean to buy more ethically and sustainably, from a consumer perspective? The two terms are definitely buzz keywords at the moment, and their definitions closely interlinked. “They should be considered synonymous,” says Simone Cipriani, the head of the UN’s Ethical Fashion Initiative. “Ethical has to [mean] sustainable, socially and environmentally.”