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What we do
How we work
Stories and News
ITC website
ITC TOOLS
What we work
ITC website
ITC TOOLS
How we work
ITC website
ITC TOOLS
Stories and News
ITC website
ITC TOOLS
ITC website
ITC TOOLS
ITC website
ITC TOOLS
ITC website
ITC TOOLS
ITC website
ITC TOOLS
After 15 years of work in Africa, Central Asia and the Caribbean, we connect brands to a broad global network of artisan producers of textiles, fashion, jewellery and accessories.
One of the largest and most significant cotton producers on the African continent, Burkina Faso is famed throughout the world for its high-quality textile production. Strengthening this sector has led to job creation and allowed for substantial social impact within the country. The introduction of wide looms, producing cloth 130 cm wide, has made this fabric attractive to international buyers, including Loewe, Camper and United Arrows. With the support of the European Union,
EFI is investing in training and equipment to build production capability in the local industry.
Benin is the largest producer of cotton on the African continent, and even one of the largest in the world. With 2 active projects in the north of the country, EFI has been working on the development and improvement of the cotton value chain in Bénin since 2020, from organic farming to spinning, weaving and quality control. Training artisans to start hand spinning with a spinning wheel introduced a new skill and created an opportunity to produce hand spun organic cotton yarn for weaving, the first step on the way to 100% artisan cotton fabrics made in Bénin. Since 2020, our work in West Africa has been supported by the EU and the ACP.
Kenya is the birthplace of the Ethical Fashion Initiative, founded in Nairobi in 2009. To date, EFI has worked with thousands of artisans in Kenya across multiple social enterprises to build production capacities and create market access for artisans and self-help groups. In Kenya, EFI has also worked with emerging designers who produce locally and have the potential to reach international markets.
The focus is on the production of high-quality ready-to-wear garments and textile accessories, supporting brands in product development and ethical manufacturing. EFI aims to foster sustainable employment in the fashion industry by supporting local communities and offering professional training programmes for industry workers.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
EFI’s work in Mali began in 2014 through partnerships with producers of the traditional Malian textile Dalifini (ngaga and saran). Workshops in Mali are specialised in natural dyeing, particularly indigo dye, as well as the traditional Bogolan (mud dyeing) technique. In 2018, work in Mali grew to include collaborations with Touareg jewellers, a nomadic community that works out of simple but sophisticated mobile workshops producing silver, bronze and copper jewellery. Since 2020, our work in West Africa has been supported by the EU and the ACP.
Lesotho is home to heritage artisanal textile crafts in sustainable wool and mohair, natural animal fibres that the country and the surrounding region produce a great volume and quality of. EFI aims to support the modernisation and diversification of textile applications for these fibres, involving young creatives in the process.
Uganda, now home to some of the world’s largest refugee camps, is a country well-known for its craftsmanship and artisanal capabilities. In order to support Uganda’s economy, alongside EFI’s social enterprise partners in Kenya, Artisan Fashion, EFI collaborated with a number of handicraft groups in the country, where palm leaf weaving is a predominant skill, and the raw material is cut and dyed to make beautiful baskets and other homeware.
Haiti’s vibrant artistic heritage shines through its diverse handcrafted goods, from intricate papier-mâché masks in Jacmel to delicate hats in Labiche. EFI supported the Design, Organization and Training (D.O.T) center in Port-au-Prince, empowering Haitian artisans skilled in horn, bone, wood, stone carving, fer découpé, beadwork, and more crafts to access sustainable employment and global markets. Through technical expertise, international collaborations, and capacity-building workshops, D.O.T bridged traditional craftsmanship with modern design.
The handcraft tradition is steeped in the culture of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Turkmenistan, and EFI recognises both the value of protecting this and the opportunity for decent work that these traditions provide. EFI has provided support for these industries by developing entrepreneurial skills and providing access to international markets to artisans, micro-producers and designers through our homeware accelerator, funded by the EU & UNESCO.
A small country in Central Asia abundant in natural resources, Tajikistan has a rich background in the folk craft of artistic embroidery. EFI supported the cultivation and sustaining of the artisan craftwork of embroidery that has been passed down from generation to generation in Khujand, one of Central Asia’s oldest cities. Our work provided support for artisan communities and helped to create and grow employment opportunities.
Located within a region of vast history of silk and cotton production, Uzbekistan is famous worldwide for its intricate Ikat designs. EFI collaborated with a number of local communities to build export capacity and create local employment through social enterprise partners in Margilan, offering an open opportunity platform for artisans to introduce their products to new markets while preserving traditional craftsmanship and cultural values.
Afghan men and women are rightly proud of their country’s rich history, traditions and cultural heritage, which are vibrantly represented in their artisan crafts. Traditional silk production methods in the region have been refined for centuries, in an organic process that spans both farming and fashion from silkworm rearing to garment making. The silk is sometimes dyed with saffron, a labour-intensive spice in high global demand that grows well in Afghanistan. EFI supported artisans working in both silk and saffron value chains through the Ethical Lifestyle project, designed specifically to create economic opportunities for returning migrants and displaced people, and more generally to help improve the lives of the Afghan people. With funding support from the European Union, our interventions focused on growing value for artisans by expanding global market access and helping them meet stringent quality, health and safety standards for export.
EFI’s past artisan empowerment & support activities include interventions in Iran & Eritrea as part of our Culture Project (2018 – 2023), and in the Republic of the Congo as part of the Poor Communities and Trade Programme (2018 – 2020).
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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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