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.

The Ethical Fashion Initiative (EFI) has named the six African designers that will participate in its acceleration programme.

EFI is a programme of the International Trade Centre, a joint agency of the United Nations and the World Trade Organisation, and a partner of EuropeAid providing artisans from the South access to the international fashion market. EFI promotes fair labour conditions and sustainable fashion. As member of The United Nations Alliance for Sustainable Fashion, it encourages use of traditional techniques in the production of garments and accessories.

The EFI Accelerator, launched in 2013, is a programme that trains emerging African designers “to become investment ready”. The mentorship focuses on expanding a brand’s supply chain, scaling up production, sourcing new products and developing a production team. Find more information here.

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.

TOKYO (09 Sept. 2019)
Awa’Tori, along with sponsors and partners, UNITED ARROWS LTD., and ITC Ethical Fashion Initiative announce the FACE.A-J 2019 selection of designers; Thebe Magugu (South Africa), Kenneth Ize (Nigeria), Anyango Mpinga (Kenya), COYOTE (Japan), Wataru Tominaga (Japan) and Sulvam (Japan) .
The designers participating in ‘Fashion & Culture Exchange Africa-Japan’ (FACE.A-J), to be held during the Rakuten Fashion Week in Tokyo have been confirmed. On Wednesday, October 16th 2019, six emerging designers from Africa (Thebe Magugu the most recent LVMH Prize winner, Kenneth Ize and Anyango Mpinga) and Japan (COYOTE, Wataru Tominaga and Sulvam) will be showcasing their designs at the STARRISE Tower Studio. This unique fashion presentation will include an installation by Nigerian artist Kadara Enyeasi, followed by a panel discussion on October 18th (information available soon).The following week in Lagos, the group will be presenting their work during Lagos Fashion Week at ALARA, the leader of high-end luxury multi label retail store on the African continent.

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.

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.”

Antes del muro de Trump, ya existía una barrera comercial, que ha dividido históricamente el mundo por la mitad. El hemisferio sur ha sido siempre el gran marginado. Sus artesanos son desterrados de la cadena de producción del mercado del lujo, condenados a trabajar en condiciones pésimas. Vivienne Westwood empezó en 2010 a colaborar con Iniciativa Moda Ética (EFI por sus siglas en inglés) del Centro de Comercio Internacional (ITC), organismo conjunto de la Conferencia de las Naciones Unidas sobre Comercio y Desarrollo (Unctad) y la Organización Mundial del Comercio (OMC). «Nuestro trabajo con el Centro de Comercio Internacional da a las personas oportunidad y sostenibilidad», señala Carlo. «Estamos hablando de trabajo», hace hincapié Simone Cipriani, director de EFI. Su lema siempre ha sido: «Es trabajo, no caridad». Para D’Amario, es un intercambio: «Compartimos técnicas y transmitimos nuestra experiencia a su artesanía. Soft Power». En castellano, ‘poder blando’ –término acuñado en los noventa que hace referencia a la influencia que tiene un Estado en el extranjero al margen de su acción diplomática, actividad directa económica o capacidad militar–. Para Carlo, la acepción moderna (más positiva) se centra en el poder de la sociedad de intercambiar ideas.

The object of Cipriani’s work is to replace “pity purchasing” – when visitors to a country might buy things just to be kind to their makers – with fine workmanship at a high level.

It’s about “empowering women by generating work and making them into micro entrepreneurs,” says Cipriani, who concentrates on city slums and rural areas in countries such as Burkina Faso, Ghana, and Kenya.

On the 10th anniversary of the EFI, Simone Cipriani discusses his mission to make fashion truly sustainable

Abrima Erwiah, who was raised in New York and worked in marketing and communications at Bottega Veneta, co-founded Studio 189, an artisan-produced fashion brand that is headquartered in Ghana, West Africa and New York. It currently operates a store in New York and Accra (Ghana), an e-commerce site, a manufacturing facility in Accra, and supports various community-led projects in Africa and in the US. It works with artisanal communities that specialize in various traditional craftsmanship techniques including natural plant-based dye indigo and hand-batik. Studio 189 partners with the United Nations ITC Ethical Fashion Initiative, NYU Stern School of Business and has collaborated with brands including EDUN, which was part of LVMH, and the retailer Yoox Net-A-Porter.

Simone Cipriani, Head and founder, Ethical Fashion Initiative at the ITC, spoke about what luxury is today and his work investment in social capital.

After years of various groups trying to promote the importance of sustainability as best they can, the United Nations Alliance on Sustainable Fashion plans to take the lead.

Fashion in Africa has consecutively gotten better with every year, and 2018 was no different. The prospects are becoming more visible and based off this, we at Haute Fashion Africa are debuting our “Fashion Ahead” list, a curation of brands who from the last quarter of the previous year are already showing trends for remarkable next year to come, thus putting them Fashion Ahead.

Williams and Adidas will release a limited-edition range of reworked track jackets with the Ethical Fashion Initiative, an organization that links artisans from developing countries to fashion’s international value chain.

The fund seeks to create an investment potential to cover the gap between public intervention and business reality in the creative and fashion sectors of Sub-Saharan Africa.

The United Nations through, its ethical fashion initiative also helped the co-founders develop a factory for its clothing. While its mission may be philanthropic, Dawson said it doesn’t come at the expense of high fashion.
“If you don’t even care about sustainability you don’t have to lose out on anything. It doesn’t have to feel like charity. It shouldn’t feel like charity. This is about really recognizing people’s work and coming to the table and recognizing everybody along the supply chain and the consumer is just as important as the farmer,” Dawson said.