London-based artist and designer Zakee Shariff has joined forces with leading Fair Trade fashion pioneer People Tree, to design a new collection of easy-to-wear jersey pieces with unique bold prints.
Posts Tagged ‘fair trade’
Zakee Shariff designs unique collection for People Tree
Laura Bailey’s Top Picks
Model, writer and contributing editor to British Vogue, Laura Bailey, browsed the People Tree Collection and chose her favourite pieces…
Safia Minney talks about recycling, green choices and her new book
Ferne Arfin, editor of energyrethinking, interviews People Tree founder Safia Minney about her new book.
Naked Fashion – the new sustainable fashion revolution
by Safia Minney, with Emma Watson, Vivienne Westwood, Orla Kiely and many more…
The People Tree Wheelchair Campaign
The People Tree Autumn / Winter jewellery collection has been created at Bombolulu, a ground breaking project in Kenya which gives valuable employment to disabled artisans. Here, we give an insight into the problems facing the workshop and how you can help…
KTS knitting design competition – the winners!
The winner! Sanita Shrestha
Masako, Head of Clothing Design in Japan and I judged KTS’s knitting competition while I was in Japan this week. KTS in Nepal make the amazing hand knitted pieces for our collections and every year they hold a competition to showcase their skills.
Each knitter knits one square of their own design and they are sewn together into a huge garment (a hat, jumper or scarf) which we then judge to find the most innovative winner. It’s a great idea and often inspires our designers to use these new techniques in the People Tree collection. As always it was hard to pick a winner – such amazing hand knit skills! But here they are – which are your favourites?
Susya Maya's lovely scalloped effect
Runner up - Gyani Baj
Runner up - Sio Savaswat's butterfly
Runner up Shanti Man
Purya Tana Bajrachaiya won the prize for making us smile the most! We love this!
Runner up Nani RinaBaj's beautiful crochet entry
We love Nani Chari Baj's choice of colours
Dunga's beautiful daisies
My week in Mombasa, Kenya
Usually I have designers with me, but this time everyone’s super busy – so I decided to attend the WFTO conference alone! Mad! As I told you in my last blog I barely had time to sleep.
I love fashion and trying something new, so I decided to produce a People Tree Bombolulu Workshops Fashion Show – 30 minutes before we were still finalising the outfits – OMG.
Anyway, follow me around the WFTO Conference, the voting group photo. The market place full of wonderful, Fair Trade craft – watch me design dresses at Bombolulu, styling the fashion show and stressing out! 
WFTO (World Fair Trade Organisation) Conference, Mombasa, Kenya
Safia, Geoff and Craig ('CAJUNZ') from Traid Aid New Zealand and Ten Thousand Villages USA
Usually a few of us from People tree attend the biannual WFTO conference – there’s so much to do! There are over 100 Fair Trade organsiations there – but this time I’m solo! So I’m developing new products with Fair Trade groups at lunch breaks, talking about Fair Trade retailing in the US and New Zealand at tea break and trying not to fall asleep reading background papers on everything from how we strengthen WFTO Fair Trade systems, strategic direction, budgets, accounts, etc, etc before falling asleep under my mosquito net.
Where? I’m in Mombassa, it’s very warm although it’s winter for Kenya and the locals are shivering in their cardigans, for us British we’re as happy as can be – only problem is my is a frizz ball hair due to the humidity.
Who am I? CAJANZ, a European or an Asian? As People Tree Japan and People Tree UK are members of WFTO I belong in two different regional groups. Europe – easy and CAJANZ (Canada, America, Japan… err Australia and New Zealand) we’re a tiny group whose motivation is to sell more Fair Trade products – The Europeans are much more political and into advocacy – so I love having a leg in both camps as it were – although I played on the CAJUN football team. I was little benefit to them though, having not played football since teaching my son at the age of two! I used to join my Asia regional talks before as I spend more time with producer groups than anyone else and after all Japan is in Asia when I last checked the map.
Can’t shut me up! – I’m an advocate for the WFTO Fair Trade system having piloted it in Bangladesh and Nepal, it helps Fair Trade groups develop capacity to compete and win a market share. So I’m very vocal all conference and delighted that the new Executive Committee with President friend Rudi Dalvai of CTM gets the vote from the floor to steam ahead with it. Only problem is when Rudi, now President, is too busy to buy me shampoo and conditioner – my hair further revolts and by the time I get home I’m so fed up with my frizzy hair I cut it off myself!
Me in the front middle all folded up
July Sample Sale
Calling all friends in the London area this weekend! Fair Trade Fashion & Accessories…
Yasmin Sari Dress
YASMIN SARI DRESS
Light weight summer dress made from recycled sari in shades of blue with clear crystals around the neckline and adjustable cotton ties at shoulder. Dresses are made from recycled saris so each one is unique. Shades and patterns will vary and some dresses will also have patches for added individually, from the Emma Watson’s SoFT Spring Summer collaboration range…
