Louis Vuitton and Branding Practice Makes Perfect: Louis Vuitton s Sustainability Practices Renew. Reduce. Recycle. Review. These are the four steps of sustainability enumerated on Louis Vuitton s website. It states, There is no creation without nature. For a design company, this couldn t be truer. Thus, Louis Vuitton is at the forefront when it comes to fashion and environmental sustainability. Since 2001, LV has been striving forward and pushing the envelope of fashion standards for eco friendliness, far beyond just those four steps. To begin their project, LV performed a thorough environmental assessment on its headquarters, workshops, warehouses, and some stores. This assessment took inventory of the usage of energy and supplies as well as waste. Following this evaluation, the company drafted an Environmental Charter, outlining several goals for its sites and stores to achieve sustainability. Their main goal? Raise awareness. Not just among employees, but also their contractors and their customers. To achieve this, a Carbon Inventory was taken in 2004. Since, electricity use within the headquarters has decreased 18%. They have also appointed internal environmental auditors, as well as regular training and workshops to increase information. Among employees, they have even established car sharing and encourage bicycle riding to work to further their efforts. To top it off, there is an in house display of water, energy, and waste indicators, so each individual can see where problems may be lying or where they are doing well. Directly viewing one s impact on a day to day basis can powerfully cause a reduction in harm, just by increasing awareness. Knowledge is perhaps the most important step one can take toward reducing consumption and benefitting the globe. Several of LV s buildings are also ISO 14001 certified. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) establishes and maintains the standards for various agencies and organizations around the globe, including environmental standards and is among the premier certifiers. The company s buildings also use low consumption bulbs, and some even have solar panels and geothermal energy. They also recycle batteries (or use rechargeable ones) and print cartridges. They even compost plant waste in workshops and warehouses. One location even has a rainwater collection and reclamation facility on site. Each of these seemingly small steps helps decrease waste and electricity use, lessening the impact these buildings make on the environment. Further, Louis Vuitton places particular emphasis on sustainable mobility that is, the transportation and shipping aspect of production. The company is attempting to guide design around packaging, rather than the other way around. Designing more efficiently reduces packaging, waste, and costs. They have also established a goal to use ocean freight for at least 60% of its shipping needs. As ocean liners have less greenhouse gas emissions than airlines, this creates an incredible impact in reducing their carbon footprint. Another way they have cut back packaging is to remove all of the plastics from their shipping pallets, leading to a reduction of over 20 tons of plastic. They even ensure that their shipping contractors and companies have environmental clauses in their contracts.
Louis Vuitton has not stopped there. Not only are their buildings, people, and processes sustainable, but they are also making their products sustainable. Seeking out alternative leathers, such as fish leather, as well as ensuring exotic leathers come from safe sources, LV is striving to ensure their products have as little impact as possible, while still maintaining incredibly high standards of luxury. The company also uses environmentally friendly and sustainable solvents and adhesives for their products, and also strive to decrease and safely dispose of hazardous wastes that may result from the processing. Not only is Louis Vuitton one of the top design brands, but they are also at the height of sustainability practices. Establishing the standards across the board, they are forcing other high end designers to reassess themselves and locate opportunities for improvement. Also, their policies make the consumer feel good, knowing they are making a conscious eco friendly decision in their purchase. Implementing these practices and continuing to push themselves forward, Louis Vuitton has achieved sustainable perfection. Recreating an Icon: Louis Vuitton and the London Art Community Fashion has long had to defend itself as a part of the fine arts community to the general public. When it comes to the most important fashion artists who project this image, few are more crucial than Louis Vuitton. Vuitton has made extensive efforts in the last few years to reach out to the general arts community and build awareness of fashion as art and the importance of art within the lives of youths and individuals. In 2010, Vuitton created the Young Arts Project. This initiative involves five major London art galleries and multitudes of important artists and collectors. Housed at the Royal Academy of Arts, the program is designed to give underprivileged 13 to 25 year olds unparalleled experience within the London arts community and the British contemporary scene. Those selected participate in a three year arts and educational program designed to produce future collectors, curators, galleries, and artists. Out of this program, 12 members collaborated to introduce the most recent addition to Vuitton s efforts: REcreative. REcreative is, first and foremost, an online community for young artists, where one can go to inspire others and to be inspired by others. Working with design agency SIFT for a full year, the group developed the website, its purpose, community, and design. The site itself is almost like its own work of art. Highly interactive and colorful, the site is filled with videos, images, and postings from the community and the administrators. For only having been open a short time, the site is already filled with contemporary art from around the world. As a website designed to inspire, the site provides a section called the Ideas Factory, where users can watch an idea go from conception to implementation. This approach provides not only inspiration, but also education in the formalities of such a process. The Ideas Factory also provides access to various studios or galleries in the London area where artists can go create together or share inspiration. Individual users post projects they are currently working on in blog format. Posting images of works in progress, completed, or just thoughts, users are sharing all forms of art. Just a quick glance down the Projects page, one finds projects in fashion, painting, film, sculpture, architectural design, photography, and poetry. Clearly, whatever your art is, it can be shared here
to collaborate, inspire, or promote. At the end of each month, a selected critic will choose his or her favorite projects to be spotlighted on the site. Those who are chosen will be among the elite and receive high profile attention. Posting projects to REcreative gives any user the incredible opportunity to move forward with their art form and receive powerful media focus. Not everyone featured on the site is an amateur, though. The Experts section interviews those who are not just artists, but also archivists and those who collect and help in the creative display of art works and installations. REcreative is sharing the information behind the scenes and furthering the knowledge of the process and what it takes to have, as well as alternatives within, a career in the arts. This section furthers the importance of education and knowledge of the functional aspect of the arts and careers within the arts. A vital part of the site is also the What s On area, where all the events of the local London contemporary art scene can be found. Just as varied as its users, the events range from dance, debates, music, and gallery shows, among others. Users can meet up with each other at these events or network with others who attend. REcreative provides a crucial calendar in one convenient place for its followers. REcreative also features an Opportunities section. Here, users can win items or trips to events. Currently featured is a chance to meet artist Fiona Banner and visit her studio, where the lucky winner will be able to see how a professional works and creates. The Opportunities section provides further encouragement to the community to continue in their artistic endeavors with tangible rewards. REcreative is just as much about the process as much as it is about the art itself. The website suggests that the word means to recreate what has already been done in a new way, to creatively be inspired and pull from the works of other artists. It is also about community. Louis Vuitton has provided an astounding new online arts community, and in so doing has set the fashion world at the forefront of this new fellowship of artists. No longer will there be a debate about where fashion belongs on the spectrum of the high arts. REcreative suggests that we are all in this together to inspire and create. REcreative can be found at www.recreativeuk.com. Singapore Galore: Louis Vuitton s Takeover of the Asian Continent Continuing in its involvement with art education, luxury brand Louis Vuitton has expanded its efforts. Last year, the LV brand began a program called the Young Arts Project, which places youth with demonstrated talents in the arts in a three year program to develop their skills among the best the London art community has to offer. In mid July, the company announced it would begin a similar project in Singapore. Louis Vuitton will be contributing six figures to Singapore s School of the Arts (SOTA). School of the Arts is Singapore s first and foremost secondary arts school, providing a six year, all encompassing arts curriculum to students between the ages of 13 and 18. The school teaches both visual and performing arts. LV s efforts will assist in furthering the visual arts program at the school, which only opened its doors in 2006. The initiative will introduce workshops and seminars, featuring artists from all over the world, to supplement the program. Students will get to work closely with recognized and successful artists in multiple areas of visual arts. The program will also create opportunities for
students to travel abroad to gain more knowledge and work in various studios or attend festivals around the globe. School of the Arts s mission statement expresses that the school aims to create a vibrant environment for learning that is uniquely anchored in the arts, celebrating experimentation, expression and discovery, with the aim of nurturing artistic talent and developing leaders who will draw on their creativity to enrich society. Very much in line with LV s artistic goals with the Young Arts Project, the school is about preparing youth to apply art successfully and creatively in the world. The company has given the school total control of whom to invite for seminars and the details of the new program. While this is Louis Vuitton s first endeavor of such proportions in Asia, the brand is not unknown to the region. In fact, as of 2009, Chinese consumers became the world s top purchasers of the Louis Vuitton brand, surpassing both America and Japan, and placing Asia as their number one market. This program will help to further the Louis Vuitton brand as both a philanthropic company, very concerned with art education, as well as promoting the brand s identity with Frenchness and luxury in Asia. Singapore will also soon be the home of LV s newest flagship store, which will open in the Marina Bay Sands, a resort luxury mall. The store is not only a beautiful boutique featuring classic LV items, but will also have a bookstore and contemporary art gallery, with space set aside for the work of students from School of the Arts. The store s design is the first of its kind a floating pavilion with glass walls further establishing the LV brand as a powerhouse in Asia. The company has cultivated their brand in Asian markets in other ways as well. In 2009, the brand teamed up with controversial Japanese artist Takashi Murakami to design both bags and advertisements, as well as revamp the interior of some stores. Murakami is known for a style called superflat, a pop art movement that parodies much of Japanese culture and consumerism. This was an ironic, but powerful (and effective) movement on behalf of the company. This year, LV also hired their first Asian male model, advancing the impact in Asia and that the Asian market is having on them. With such high demand and popularity, Louis Vuitton s leading counterfeit market is also in Asia. LV has long been in legal battles with various Asian countries in attempts to thwart these fakers. While some have been successful, counterfeiting technology has advanced so far that phonies are hard to distinguish from the genuine items. Perhaps LV s new efforts to reach the Asian communities (and not just their wallets), will encourage equal reciprocation. Copy Catwalk: Fashion and Intellectual Property A particularly unique situation may actually be helping the fashion industry. Unlike films and music, fashion cannot be copyrighted and placed under the same intellectual property laws. This means less protection for fashion designers and rampant fraud that is actually legal. How can this obvious counterfeiting be allowed? Copyrights cannot protect useful articles, only works of creation or art. Since clothing s main purpose is the functional aspect of adorning the body and protection, no matter how creative it is, it is still an item with a purpose. There are alternatives for designers, such as trademarks and design patents. But due to the fleeting nature of the fashion industry, the time involved in establishing these protections is often not worth the investment in time or cost; a new design is typically out of style by the time they are granted. Also, design patents only protect certain ornamental aspects of design and
trademarks only protect logos and brand names, making them even more pointless for most designs. While the court has made allowances for the separable aspects of creative design typically fabric, prints, or surface designs their decisions have not always been consistent and the rules of separability, as well as what is ornamental versus functional, are very open to interpretation. The court s thought process is that, since clothing is functional, to allow copyrights would stifle the creativity of future designers, hinder competition and drive up prices for consumer goods, according to Jennifer Jenkins and Christine Cox, authors of the article Between the Seams, a Fertile Commons: An Overview of the Relationship between Fashion and Intellectual Property. One example was a case brought by Louis Vuitton against Dooney & Bourke, who used a similar initial design on their bags. While the court determined that LV indeed had a trademark on their logo, to promote creativity, they cannot be allowed the rights to the initial design. While it would be assumed that this copying would harm the fashion industry, it is actually having the opposite effect. Since such an important part of fashion is establishing trends, the ability to be copied actually creates increased desirability for the original, boosting the prestige aspect of major fashion houses that are ahead of the curve. It is accepted as common practice to duplicate designs within the fashion industry, as Jenkins and Cox state. And allowing imitations boosts sales. Knockoffs sell, but the prestige causes originals to sell, too. Thus, both parties are successful. If higher end goods had copyright protection, these smaller producers would not be able to recreate their style. A trend would not be established and demand for the original good would fall. The ability to copy designs in fashion actually helps the industry sell more overall. Not having property rights allows the industry to establish trends. If smaller companies cannot build their own identity and create trends, they fail. The goal becomes to BE copied. Unfortunately, this does mean that counterfeits are available and are cutting into the sales of other companies. However, this seems to actually be pushing the industry further each year, striving to create the most unique designs designs that are either separable enough to be trademarked or distinctive enough to be copied and continue the cycle. Fashion and Branding Econo Chic: The New High Fashion in a Recession Economy What do Stella McCartney, Jean Paul Gaultier, and Alexander McQueen all have in common? Aside from being fabulous fashion designers, all three of them have collaborated with Target Corporation to produce exclusive lines of clothing for Target stores. Far cheaper than department or gallery store pricing, these lines include items that range in price from around $20 to $150. And Target is not the only one in on the exclusive designer lines. Kmart has previously collaborated with Rodarte. Sears s new line features designs from the Kardashians. Payless is currently promoting a shoe line from Christian Siriano, winner of Project Runway season four. H&M has worked with Karl Lagerfeld, Matthew Williamson, and Jimmy Choo. Max Azria recently
designed with Miley Cyrus to produce a line just for Wal Mart stores. Even ebay is partaking of the action, with a line from Derek Lam only available online through the auction site. And these examples are only the beginning. Some designers have worked for more than one store, even. Stella McCartney has had a line at both Target and H&M. Lela Rose is currently designing for Payless and Ann Taylor Loft. Target is perhaps the most prolific store, providing exclusive lines for each season or more, while most of the others have annual collections or choose to work with multiple designers at a time for a longer period of time. All these high profile names in conjunction with less high profile stores mean a lot for the fashion industry. One, it is a reflection of the current state of the economy that there is such incredible demand for these high class names at more accessible pricing. Stella McCartney s launch of her line for Target in Australia sold out within hours. Women, who had lined up the night before, were tackling each other in the store just to be able to purchase her collection at such a value. People purchased items en masse without even trying them on. But this powerful demand suggests that while the fashion industry may be suffering, there is still a strong desire for high fashion, even in hard times. It also means that while not everyone can afford these glamorous artist s designs, that people are still paying attention. The fashion world clearly still revolves around these high end names and collections. These designers are forerunners in fashion, as well as leaders in the recession economics of fashion. More of these collaborations are clearly in the works and this may be the future of elite fashion. But what does this mean for the luxury brand? Will high fashion no longer be for the elite? Certainly not. What this means is that those with the luxury power can make the most difference in the economy. Designers are still producing the same higher quality designs for specialty stores, but the seasonal pieces from these glamorous designers can be purchased at more affordable pricing, and none will know the difference, save the purchaser. You can still strut your stuff on the street without the guilt of the price tag. Then, the savings can be applied to the purchase of a more eco friendly vehicle, towards donations to upstart businesses, towards making the biggest impact where we can, without sacrificing style. And while more people will be seen on the streets in these gorgeous designs, it can inspire the future generations of designers and fashionistas to be savvy and conscious, pushing for a more glamorous, yet aware future. As Harriet Quick of British Vogue states, "The defining feature of recession chic will be lateral thinking. It's not just about going to Primark, it's looking for generic items in John Lewis or going to army surplus stores, rethinking your wardrobe with clever tricks. When we look back on the style of these times we're going to see ingenuity." FURocious Design You know her name. You know her father s name. You love her designs and her elegant flare. But do you know what she really stands for? What the woman behind the fashion believes and projects in her collections? L elite examines why Stella McCartney has become synonymous with vegan fashion and the anti fur fashion movement. Stella is the daughter of iconic former Beatle Sir Paul McCartney and his late wife Linda. Raised on a farm in England, Stella lived her early life surrounded by animals, nature, and the organic lifestyle. She is a life long vegetarian and has maintained her diet and lifestyle throughout her life, even at the risk of losing potential career opportunities. When Gucci approached her in 2000 about beginning her own line, she was insistent on complete material control, intent on keeping leather and furs out of her clothing collections. Gucci, a decidedly not vegan company, still
owns half of Stella s line. While some vegans may protest her clothing, as her parent company is not vegan, Stella argues that she is infiltrating from within. In forcing a non vegan company to embrace vegan alternatives, she attracts additional attention and quietly reminds consumers that there can be compassion within the major fashion companies. She also infiltrated from within when she opened her first New York store in the middle of Manhattan s meat packing district. While an unlikely place to find a high end fashion store, Stella uses her location and status to force people to be aware of the cruelty involved in the selling of meat for consumption in any manner, food or fashion. Fur, Stella says, is a superficial luxury, an idea that she perpetuates in her collections as well as her charities and public image. Stella is a well known supporter of PETA and created an anti fur video with the organization, providing a high profile name to the movement. The video is nearly six minutes of heartbreaking footage of animals, mostly foxes and raccoons, in horrifying conditions, narrated by Stella. She places emphasis on the lack of veterinary care and intentional neglect of animals raised on pelt farms, even to the point of the animals not being provided water. The video also displays footage of animals driven cage crazy, pacing back and forth in small crates, covered with lost hair, teeth and blood. Some animals are even driven to cannibalism of their crate mates. The end of the video exposes the torturous method of anal electrocution to kill the animals prior to skinning, which frequently fails the first attempt. Stella also provided support for another PETA video ad in 2009 that showed a skinless alligator and rabbit asking a fashionable young woman for their coats back. Further, in 2007, Stella created her own virtual Fur Protest on the online community of Second Life. This was the first protest of its kind, and this time, PETA backed her. Virtual avatars were given veggie burgers and T shirts or picket signs with slogans like I d rather be pixelated than wear fur, a turn on the standard I d rather be naked than wear fur. Providing a more casual protest environment than the oft mocked red paint splattering of PETA days of yore, Stella s virtual protest was unique and reached a multitude of audiences by being a quirky way to draw attention to the cruelty of pelt usage in the fashion industry. Stella has maintained her ethics while still providing incredibly fashion forward designs. Designing gorgeous full faux fur coats, vests, and shawls, she pushes the envelope of traditional fur fashions, proving that faux is just as glamorous as the real thing. She has also added faux accents on shoes, and boots, providing a range of false fur accessories and embellishments in addition to her stunning alternatives. Stella argues that people in fashion just don't want to hear the messages. I find it astounding, because fashion is supposed to be about change I mean, we're supposed to be at the cutting edge! I can only think they don't care as much as people in other industries. So, yes, I think people in fashion are pretty heartless. She not only proves that she is a compassionate designer, but that consumers desire to be compassionate and cruelty free along with her. Her campaigns have certainly attracted attention to her brand, but mostly have forced other designers and consumers into awareness. As fashion guru Tim Gunn has said, Stella s work has helped to redefine and recalibrate our thinking. Higher end brands have said they couldn t exist without fur. Stella proves, of course you can. Let s hope this is one trend that continues. Going Viral: D&G and the Fashion Blogging Boom Many luxury brands have their own blogging sites, posting the latest news, images, and videos of their collections and designs.and even more individuals blog about the newest trends, names, and what to look out for. But few luxury brands are working with these creative
individuals to start something entirely different. Yet, the brand giving the most impetus behind the recent surge in fashion blogging is Dolce & Gabbana. Dolce & Gabbana has been encouraging fashion blogging for a few years, setting a landmark place for bloggers at their October 2009 Milan Fashion Week premiere. Rather than granting the front row seats of their shows to high profile fashion journalists or magazines, D&G gave these foremost seats to their favorite fashion bloggers. The bloggers then profiled the new lines with rare views on their respective sites, making them accessible to all of their readers. In February of this year, Dolce & Gabbana continued this trend with the start of a marketing program they call Dress Me Up. Dress Me Up takes D&G s favored bloggers and grants them the opportunity to create and design a window display for several of their flagship stores. Starting in Milan and moving to London and now Madrid, the marketing idea reflects how the internet has become the new standard by which all is judged. If you can make it online, you can make it anywhere. These bloggers, twitterers, and social media gurus are at the forefront of fashion trends. Both spotting and setting trends, these fashionistas are in the unique position to powerfully influence the trends of tomorrow. These internet personalities are followed by both everyday fashion lovers and stylists for films, television, and celebrities, putting their ideas directly in the hands of those with the most power the consumer. The fashion blogosphere is creating a phenomenon known as viral trendsetting. Just as internet videos and memes go viral, online trendspotting is having a similar affect. Bloggers will mention specific items in their feeds, and stores will be sold out of the item within days. The blogosphere is becoming the hot spot for savvy fashionistas to keep their fingers on the ever changing pulse of the fashion industry. These blogs are creating demand where there may not have been demand before, proving just how influential they can be. Bloggers are allowed to editorialize where fashion magazines may not, causing them to more directly influence their readers. This allows blogs a more unique sense of identity, making them more relatable to their followers. Knowing that you share opinions of style with a blogger means you are more likely to follow their trend advice and thus purchase items they suggest. D&G is tapping in to this influential power to promote their brand. It seems only a matter of time until bloggers are the future official advertisers for fashion companies and this method becomes standard. Dolce & Gabbana is setting the trend. Fashion and Philanthropy What Gives? Designers Give Back When it comes to giving back, few companies know how to do it better than fashion design houses. From glamorous galas to simple charity auctions, big brand designers are focusing more of their energy on giving back where they can and helping those who are truly in need all over the world. From environmental to children s charities, fashionistas can feel good about supporting luxury brands that help support the world. Perhaps one of the most high profile philanthropists in fashion is Stella McCartney. Well known for her stance against fur and animal leathers, Stella has worked with PETA on multiple occasions to bring attention to the cruelty brought against animals to obtain skins or even
food. An outspoken vegetarian, many of her charities benefit animal rights or advocate vegetarianism, such as Meat Free Monday, a program started with her father, Sir Paul McCartney. Stella s incredibly long list of charities also include environmental groups such as the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), children s welfare organizations such as P.S. Arts, and breast cancer charities, in honor of her late mother. Visit Stella s website at www.stellamccartney.com to view more about her charities and how you can help support them as well. Another designer with her own charitable organization is Diane Von Furstenberg. She founded the Diller von Furstenberg Family Foundation which provides support to various non profits with causes for women s advocacy in America and internationally, such as Vital Voices and Women for Women International, children s welfare and groups such as Teach for America. The Family Foundation also awards four individuals per year who have shown dedication to a cause or charity with additional funding toward their fight. www.dvf.com lists several organizations supported by the designer. Louis Vuitton is always making strides toward a better world. As recently discussed, Vuitton is working to provide art education to needy young adults through his Young Arts Project. LV as a company also strives for incredible environmental and sustainability achievements. Currently, they are working with Al Gore and The Climate Project, which strives to build awareness and boost education about the environment. Louis Vuitton has also set up auctions to support the Mandela Rhodes Foundation which provides scholarships to exceptional students in Africa, as well as the SOS Children s Villages which aids abandoned and orphaned children. There are also many organizations that are supported by multiple fashion houses. As previously mentioned, Stella McCartney helps support the NRDC. Chanel has also hosted a charity in their honor as part of NRDC s Ocean Initiative. The NRDC strives to implement legal actions that help benefit the environment, wildlife, and the future of our world. You can help by going to their website at www.nrdc.org and clicking on the Take Action tab. The White Ribbon Alliance has also been assisted by multiple fashion designers. This organization strives to make childbearing and birth safer for the mother and child. One of Diane Von Furstenberg s most important charities, the group has also been supported by Louis Vuitton and has supermodel Naomi Campbell as a spokesperson. Among the most assisted charities is (RED), an international organization that is working to build awareness of AIDS and HIV and is striving for an AIDS free world. Working closely with multiple name brands, (RED) builds funds by selling exclusive products and using the proceeds toward their cause. Some big names they have worked with include Stella McCartney, Emporio Armani, even Vanity Fair and Elle, as well as more mass market names such as Nike and Converse. Fashion names around the globe are creating and assisting organizations to help create a better world. But you don t have to be a designer to help out. Keep your finger on the pulse of these fashion houses and you can attend their events or purchase from their charity lines and auctions to help their causes. Better yet, you can donate or get involved directly at the source of the charity. There are always people looking for volunteers to help pamphlet, organize, or assist nearly any charity, local or global. And with today s technological world, you can even get involved right from your home by supporting causes online. Follow in the footsteps of these great fashion role models and help out in any way possible.
Haute Philanthropy When it comes to philanthropy, Africa is THE hot topic. From providing clean water to developing schools and technology throughout the continent, Africa is the focus of multiple programs and organizations. While many programs create funds to assist impoverished African communities, few programs work to make these villages self sustainable. The Ethical Fashion Programme aims to change that. Not charity, just work, is the program s mantra, stressing the creation of jobs, not just funds. The program has created and maintained over 7,000 jobs in African communities since its founding in February 2010. Workers are trained, often taking skills they already have as cultural artisans, and sew, stitch, and create fashion products. They are also trained in personal monetary responsibility and care to ensure that they become sustainable and focused on themselves and their community, without continued supervision. A part of the United Nations run International Trade Centre (ITC), which enables small business export success in developing countries, the Ethical Fashion Programme (EFP) is spearheaded by Simone Cipriani. Cipriani strives to connect communities in Africa with major European fashion houses to create an alternative workforce. The program facilitates disadvantaged communities and their groups of artisans to enter the international value chain, he says. Those who might normally be excluded from the global economy are given the opportunity to take part, thanks to the EFP. Rather than simply providing funds to these communities, the organization works to achieve three types of sustainability: social, environmental, and economic. Through focusing sustainability in all three areas, the greatest impact is achieved, becoming mutually beneficial to all involved. The program is working with sustainably produced materials, providing jobs to a society that can then become economically self sufficient. The outcome is powerful. Most of the workers for EFP are also female. The program strives to build lasting female equality in an area where it is very hard for women in daily life. Not only is the program building lasting, self sufficient communities, but it is also working to end female suffering and sustain gender balance. British designer Vivienne Westwood is one of the organization s founding partners, currently working with Ethical Fashion Africa in Nairobi, Kenya to provide jobs to the local community. Known for her unique punk and alternative designs and her flaming red hair, Westwood states that the program gives people control over their lives. Charity doesn t give them control. It s the opposite; it makes them dependent. Providing these jobs allows the individual workers their own lives and the funds to send their children to school, or pay for medical expenses as needed. The emphasis is that the workers have the choice where to spend their wages. Westwood continues, If people have an income and power and more control over their lives, they can choose not to have to exploit the environment because they have another way of earning some money. For her, who says she is traumatized by climate change, another crucial aspect of the program is the lighter environmental impact. Westwood s line uses only recycled materials and the program also encourages their workers to continue to be environmentally responsible, in addition to recycling and reducing waste. Fashion is notoriously one of the most wasteful industries, yet with programs like this, waste is reduced while simultaneously assisting others. Another appeal for Westwood is the uniqueness that comes with using individual artisans to create mass produced items. She says, A lot of this work has the hand. I think it s wonderful if you can transfer something that has that human design. She sees these workers as individual
artists working to create her designs in an even more unique manner. Each item is different, as each one was created by a different individual. I love my job, states Winifred Wangari, the Production Supervisor of Ethical Fashion Africa, working with Westwood. It has helped me to move on with my life. I am proud of it. The workers are treated as humans, rather than cogs in a production machine, creating a sense of pride for the individuals. Consumers can feel great knowing that their purchase has made such an impact throughout the supply chain. Knowing that the person who created a product you purchase put their life and pride into it, makes it all the more meaningful to all parties involved. It s quite incredible to think that we might save the world through fashion, says Westwood. With programs like the Ethical Fashion Programme making such an incredible impact, it couldn t be more true.