Be an Animateur!

For those who had me as a professor at Oregon State University, you know that one of my mantras was that anyone within a company can make a positive difference around socially responsible business practices, regardless of title or position. I truly believe this! And now I have a name for such as person – animateur – someone who leads through engaging and inspiring others! 

Authors Peter M. Senge, Bryan Smith, Nina Kruschwitz, Joe Laur, & Sara Schley use this term in their book, The Necessary Revolution: How Individuals and Organizations Are Working Together to Create a Sustainable World, to describe those who “‘bring to life’ a new way of thinking, seeing, or interacting that creates focus and energy.” These individuals inspire others in companies and organizations to ask difficult questions and to respect multiple perspectives – all necessary for the company or organization to move to new levels of creativity and impact.

The authors challenge us to engage in meaningful conversations around socially responsible business practices and to ask difficult questions around “what would we do if?”. They offer excellent insights and very useful tools to create, manage, and follow-through with these conversations. Applying these lessons to the fashion industry, questions might include:
As a company, what would we do if?
•    water scarcity meant that traditional dying methods would no longer be viable?
•    fashion brands were required to take back all merchandise from consumers when the merchandise was no longer being worn/used?
•    the health of the factory workers who made the clothing was a priority to those purchasing the merchandise?
•    brand loyalty was dependent on complete supply chain transparency?
•    zero waste design was the goal for every new fashion?

In working with those in the fashion industry, I often hear excuses as to why these conversations are not happening; excuses such as:
•    My company has a CSR department that handles these initiatives.
•    I work for a huge company – it would impossible to get anyone’s attention.
•    I work for a small company – we simply can’t afford the time and energy needed for these conversations.
•    I work for a chain organization and all of these decisions are made by corporate.
•    We need to wait until our competitors move forward before we do.

If you want to make a difference around the socially responsible practices in your company but have  made such excuses yourself or heard someone in your company or organization make such excuses, I highly recommend reading The Necessary Revolution. You can make a difference! You can lead through inspiration. Indeed, you can be an animateur!

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On the Mend

The other day I mended several pairs of my favorite socks. I can’t say that I went as far as “darning” them as I simply sewed up holes in the toes so that I wouldn’t be embarrassed in case I wore them on a trip and had to take off my shoes to go through airport security. I got to thinking how rarely I mend, repair, or modify/alter my clothing to extend the life of my garments. This most likely has to do with behaviors as a consumer of clothing: 1) I rarely wear out my clothing – instead, I become bored with them, they no longer fit, or they go out of fashion, or 2) clothing that is worn is rarely “worth” mending, repairing, or altering. On occasion I may re-purpose my used clothing – that is, use it in a new way – but that also takes time, creativity, and energy. I use old t-shirts that are stained and/or stretched out as cleaning rags but that’s about as far as it goes. In reflecting that I need to be more mindful about mending, repairing, and/or altering my clothing to extend their use, a few companies come to mind that not only offer a variety of ways to have their brands repaired but actually encourage their customers to do so.
Birkenstock, a German footwear company, has been encouraging their customers to repair worn shoes and sandals for years. On their website, they provide information on a variety of stores that offer repair services. I typed in my zip code and found 13 authorized Birkenstock repair retailers including one here in Corvallis (my hometown) that offers both in-store and mail order repair. Or you can follow one of several Youtube videos for DIY resoling and recorking directions.
Nudie Jeans, a Swedish apparel denim brand, recently launched a “Repair and Take Care of Your Jeans” section to their website. They offer several ways for you to repair your Nudie jeans: 1) selected Nudie jeans stores worldwide will repair them for free, 2) you can order a free Nudie jeans repair kit and do it yourself, or as they suggest, 3) you can find someone who will repair them for you. 
Coach, based in New York City, offers free repairs on their handbags, briefcases, and small leather goods for one year after purchase. After that, they offer repair services for a fee. You can take your coach leather goods in need of repair to selected retail stores or send them to their centralized repair assessment location in Florida. For simple repairs such as replacing a turnlock, they will send you a new one with instruction for DIY repair. Their website also provides information about repairing other Coach merchandise.
Have you ever mended, repaired, or modified/altered any clothing to extend its life? Maybe getting new soles put on a favorite pair of shoes or boots?  Maybe sewing on buttons that have fallen off? I have a box that contains all of the “extra button” packets that came with new clothing; but I have to admit that I seldom take the time to find the right button when one get loose or falls off – and this is coming from someone who mends socks! I know that one of my new year’s resolutions will be to be "on the mend” – that is, to make the time to extend the life of my clothing by mending, repairing, or altering garments! And, who knows, I may even organize those buttons!

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Ethical Fashion Initiative: Not Charity, Just Work

I had the great pleasure of hearing Simone Cipriani, Founder of the Ethical Fashion Initiative, speak at a recent conference of the International Textile and Apparel Association. Mr. Cipriani shared the goals, business model, and implementation strategies of this amazing program of the International Trade Center (a joint agency of the United Nations and World Trade Organization).  Created in 2009, the Ethical Fashion Initiative focuses on connecting micro-artisans/producers from developing countries (e.g., Ghana, Ethiopia, Kenya, Haiti, and Cambodia) with international fashion brands in creating sustainable and ethically produced merchandise sold throughout the world. Current fashion brand partners include Chan Luu (jewelry from Kenya), Osklen (jewelry from Haiti), Karen Walker (eyewear pouches from Kenya), Isetan (bags designed in collaboration with Italian fashion brand, Marni, and produced in Kenya), and MIMCO (variety of accessories from Kenya), among others. To support the work of both the micro-artisans/producers and the fashion brands, business support infrastructures have been created around centralized production hubs for assembly, quality assurance, and shipping; thus allowing artisans from multiple communities to be involved with production. 
The RISE model used by the Ethical Fashion Initiative appears simple in design (a characteristic of all great design) but ambitious in its implementation. RISE stands for Respect – Invest – Sustain – Empower. As noted on their website:
•    Respect – Respect is about valuing the people we work with and their culture. We consistently carry out a baseline study for each community and create a map to track the entire supply chain.
•    Invest – Business plays a key role in supporting sustainable development. The Invest stage monitors trade-related activities and all investments brought to the community, such as capacity building.
•    Sustain – Fair labour conditions and environmental awareness are key to sustaining dignified lives. The Sustain stage monitors the fair labour and environmental practices and standards applied throughout the supply chain.
•    Empower – The social and economic impact assessments are conducted at pre-determined intervals. The assessments follow the rigorous impact assessment methodology of the Ethical Fashion Initiative.
Mr. Cipriani shared not only his enthusiasm for ethically produced fashion merchandise but also the stories of the impact this initiative has had on the lives of the many artisans who have been involved. As a wonderful example of supply chain transparency (if you’ve read my other blogs, you’ll see a pattern of my talking about great examples of supply chain transparency), the Ethical Fashion Initiative website includes videos of artisans and their fashion brand partners.  All are uplifting and inspiring! I urge you to check out their website and learn more about the important role of micro-artisans/producers in the global fashion value/supply chain!

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Putting a Face to Fashion: Uganda

As you know from my previous blog postings, I strongly believe in the power of supply chain transparency -- I love companies that share stories of their workers through photos, videos, and interviews – evidence of the real faces of fashion. Two companies (well, one of them is a non-profit but most of their operating expenses comes from selling merchandise) I want to share with you in this posting are Sseko Designs and Krochet Kids Intnl. Both produce merchandise in Uganda and both use the creation of fashion as a basis for social change; in the case of these two companies to use fashion to empower women in Uganda. Through the creation of fashion both companies offer women steady employment, education and/or scholarships, and opportunities for the women to become self-reliant. In addition, by producing merchandise in Africa with materials/fabrics from either the US or Africa both companies can take advantage of the US trade initiative known as the  African Growth and Opportunity Act when importing the merchandise back into the US,

Sseko Designs makes wonderful “ribbon sandals” with interchangeable fabric straps as well as leather bags and other footwear and accessories. The model used by Sseko Designs is to provide employment to women during the 9-month gap between high school and university requiring them to save money to pay for tuition. Sseko also grants scholarships to these women so that they can earn a college degree. As they note “If we considered the impact that each product we consume has on the lives of those who produced that product and chose to see consumerism as a force and opportunity for positive social change, we believe the world would be filled with beautiful products with even more beautiful stories.” On their website is a “meet the women” page with stories about the women who work for Sseko Designs. For example, Pauline works in assembling sandals. Her goal is to study law.

Krochet Kids Intnl. creates hand crocheted hats, scarves and other men’s, women’s, and children’s apparel. The model used by Krochet Kids Intntl. is that women enter their program, learn to crochet and have steady employment for up to three years. During that time, they set goals, learn about business operations and finance, and have one-on-one mentoring with a local female program mentor. An interesting aspect of Krochet Kids is that they are a registered non-profit organization. As they note, “As a non-profit, we are able to focus more resources and financial investment into our program initiatives and the activities that achieve empowerment.” Upon graduation from the program, the women have gone on to become business owners and teachers. As noted in a Krochet Kids Intnl. video: “the true measure of social impact is not how well you can care for someone in your presence, but how well they thrive in your absence.” Watch their videos of the women crocheting hats sold all over the world and you too will be inspired.

These are the true faces of fashion.

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