The tasks ahead for the People Tree Foundation are huge.
Fashion has a dirty side, yet many low-price, fast fashion brands are seeing sales growth, in the face of economic down turn.

Jo Wood and Safia at the launch of the People Tree foundation last week.
Despite media exposes in the last 2 years on labour abuses in garment factories and child labour in the developing world – customers are too slow to take responsibility for their part in it and to hold companies accountable. There is widespread public support for fair trade, but so far most of the educational, general awareness building and campaigning work has been done in the area of trade and food commodities, not manufactured products like fashion. People Tree Foundation will be working alongside People Tree and other NGOs to research and publish materials and short films to empower educators and responsible consumers to open the debate. The Foundation aims to create powerful visual tools that make clear the need for higher minimum ethical and environmental practice in the conventional fashion industry – at the same time as showcasing best practice in fair trade and sustainability.
“If I earned 50% more I could feed myself and my family properly – even though I work 14 hours a day for overseas customers, I still cannot” Begum Ali, conventional garment worker in Dhaka, Bangladesh.
People Tree has built a reputation as a major force in capacity support and technical assistance for artisan groups in the developing world, and helps them overcome barriers, so that they can sell their products in quality-conscious markets like Japan and UK. People Tree Foundation will help scale up these activities, to benefit an even greater number of people, by funding and providing technical services to help build producer capacity and train hundreds more people. People Tree Foundation hopes to document ‘How To’ Fair Trade Fashion, so that one day, high street brands can partner with a weaving project and deliver the same benefits.
Jo Wood of Jo Wood Organics helped me launch the foundation last Monday. She recently accompanied me to Bangladesh to see the difference for herself that Fair Trade fashion makes. We’re going to work closely together to make the dreams of the People Tree Foundation a reality. You can read more about it on Treehugger, The Gin Lady and Green My Style.
London Fashion Week started for me with the Minister of Sustainability, as he is often called, Lord Hunt and his launch of the government Sustainable Clothing Road Map. There are huge problems with only 14% of clothing being recycled and disposable, and the un-biodegradability of fast fashion so I’m thrilled that the government are taking an active role to get the fashion industry engaged – but the Road Map does not go far enough as I explained in our press release.
People Tree had an exhibition at Estethica, where we showed our new Autumn Winter 2009 collection, which unlike other brands we have largely ordered two months ago, as it is made by hand it takes much longer to make. We had a lot of interest from new ethical stockists in the UK and Europe, despite the recession, it is clear that Fair Trade fashion is not a luxury it is fashioning the future. (Even WGSN, (World Global Style Network) referenced People Tree’s sustainable, Fair Trade practice as a trend for Spring 2010 that the luxury and big brands will follow ).

Aurelie at the LFW week stand and with Madeleine, Antony and Ruth
I also had a few inspiring hours at shows of friends Bora Aksu and Eley Kishimoto.

My front row!! The PT team Misato, Jenny and Antony
At Bora Aksu’s show

Top: Gorgeous Bora, so sexy!
Bottom: Fabulous punk in black
At Eley Kishimoto’s show ‘Jet Set Masala’

Top: Fabulous prints and pretty tailoring
Bottom: My favourite EK dress and a fab blazer.