Ferne Arfin, editor of energyrethinking, interviews People Tree founder Safia Minney about her new book.
Posts Tagged ‘environment’
Naked Fashion – the new sustainable fashion revolution
by Safia Minney, with Emma Watson, Vivienne Westwood, Orla Kiely and many more…
History of People Tree
People Tree set out to prove that organically grown, hand-made, community-produced fashion could be successful. Read about the evolution of Fair Trade Fashion as told by founder Safia Minney…
Bangladesh – Workshops, training sessions, catalogue shoots and production checks!
There’s never just one reason for going somewhere in the Fair Trade world – there are always several! I ran a garments workshop for a day, then one on handicrafts for between 15 and 25 people from Fair Trade groups.
Next year is People Tree’s 20th and 10th anniversaries (Japan and UK). So we’re putting together special catalogues to celebrate!
Of course People Tree started in Japan, and Bangladesh was the first country that I started designing products with small Fair Trade groups in, so we decided to do fashion shoots there!
The biggest problem was the heat and humidity – 33 degrees and 80% humidity. Climate Change means that the monsoon rains are continuing and with it there are huge numbers of insects you would usually not see at this time of year – fireflies, annoying little red ants and huge waspy things.
I wish I had the foresight to catch some fireflies and put them in a jar – as the lights and electricity went out regularly every night! Fumi our model from Japan and Hiroe our Catalogue manager were caught fully soaped up in the shower with no lights and then suddenly no water. This was a lesson in how not to take for granted the basics – water in pipes, light at the flick of a switch.
I’m not complaining of course, this is the daily life of millions in the developing world and mostly we squander it when it’s as convenient as it is in London or Tokyo.
The Shoot
I shot the catalogue with the help of Miki Alcalde and Gail Rhodes on hair and makeup, and Fumi and Hiroe from Japan along with a few local friends.
The team!
Gail helps Fumi keep cool and gorgeous in our rabbit print organic dress.
Fumi meets the women handweaving the fabric for the Spring Stripe cotton trousers she models.
After shoot celebration
We’d tend to go out for a drink after a shoot is over, go to my friend’s night club in Dhaka and dance, but tomorrow we have to part ways – half the team returning to Dhaka and half of us going to visit Action Bag in Saidpur, to check our top secret bag collaboration (you’ll be hearing about it soon!). So instead of partying we make do with swinging in the roots of a banyan tree.
Of course the locals put us to shame!
People Tree Fashion Show – The Garden Party to Make a Difference
Hashmukh Patel visited us from Agrocel, our organic Fair Trade cotton project in India, to tell 500 people about why it’s important that they buy Fair Trade fashion. A huge thank you to Leni’s models for helping us with the event!
I love hanging out with him, he’s so organic and has the most wonderful feeling about him. He taught me yoga – he naturally sees that businesses have to be sustainable to the farmer, building the farmer up economically through Fair Trade, so that they can go organic. It takes 3-5 years for farmers to go organic and they need to know that they have secure orders as they are so poor they cannot afford to take further risks with their lives and their families livelihoods.
Photos of Emma Watson’s collaboration with People Tree (First showing ever!)
Hashmukh Patel from Agrocel and me
So many things to see including a dance powered disco floor!
And I’ve never seen so many types of garlic!
We were encouraged us to insolate our houses with British wool
A stand highlighting the importance of buying wine with corks rather than screw tops – protecting the livelihoods of cork producers in countries like Portugal.
And remember dry you clothes on a line don’t tumble dry..!
Clarence House: The home and gardens of Prince Charles
They’ve got great taste, Prince Charles and his team!
I loved the recycled paint pods and wellies with flowery plants and herbs growing out of them. I also appreciated the mixed farming reflected in Charlie’s garden - I see this in the organic cotton fields in Gujarat too - – a row of tomatoes, roses, herbs, huge great leeks and some gorgeous small fruit trees. We are lucky to have such a practical and eco Royal.
Here are some snaps of the garden:
There were lots of other wonderful sights to enjoy too including my sons favourite…
A solar powered bike, complete with sound system! - put together with recycled parts from all kinds of different vehicles.
Fair Trade Fashion Network
We launched the Fair Trade fashion network today with People Tree, Pants to Poverty, Gossypium, Bishopston Trading, Epona , Pachacuti and Fairy Covered.
Fair Trade Fashion Network
We launched the Fair Trade fashion network today with People Tree, Pants to Poverty, Gossypium, Bishopston Trading, Epona , Pachacuti and Fairy Covered.
The aims are to spread awareness of Fair Trade fashion and our work as pioneers in the industry.
Why now?
The Fair Trade cotton mark has helped cotton farmers earn a better price for their cotton. Launched nearly 5 years ago People Tree and Gossypium were involved in developing the standards with the Fairtrade Foundation, as we had already been working with Fair Trade and Organic Cotton farmer groups for over 10 years.
Carry Somers of Pachacuti explained how her work using the Sustainable Fair Trade Management System (SFTMS) of World Fair Trade Organisation has a huge impact on her producer groups in Latin America.
All the Fair Trade fashion companies use Fairtrade and organic cotton but People Tree works with artisanal groups too and a social business called Assisi Garments that transform the cotton into clothing – set up originally to provide livelihoods for deaf and mute, very low income women. If a standard for Fair Trade manufacture goes no further than the current initiatives of the Clean Clothes Campaign, ETI, etc not only would our producers lose out – it would undermine the work of these initiatives.
All the companies present agreed that we need to mainstream the idea of Fair Trade in the fashion industry and agreed to work and campaign together.
I’ll look forward to sharing more with you soon!
Japan LOVES People Tree!
Safia writes…
“You might be surprised to know that I started People Tree in Japan 19 years ago. I had to learn Japanese first, then set about hunting out people who shared my values working in environmental and social issues. It was a tiny, barely visible network, but together we’ve grown into a green movement with one of the most innovative Fair Trade movements globally.”
Mia
The model Mia Tazawa tells us about what she likes about People Tree and what she thinks governments need to do support Fair Trade…
