This week I had the pleasure of purchasing my new favorite 'Little Green Dress'; not only green in colour but green in its ethics and manufacture too. The dress caught my eye immediately; it was hanging in the window of The Fair Shop in centre position with the summer sunshine glancing of it's glittering diamond prints. I had seen the prototype for this dress in the run up to its production so I was very excited to finally see it in the shop window for sale!
The dress is produced by Shika, a UK registered charity that aims to create opportunities for the poorest people in Tanzania through access to education and trade. The trade part is where the dress comes in; Shika has it's own fashion label ‘oh so Shika’, an income generation programme working with a small group of disadvantaged women who produce contemporary fair trade clothing. All the profits support their educational programmes:
"Our work supports the United Nation’s Millennium Development Goal no 2 to “Ensure that all children achieve universal primary education”. We do this by working at the grass roots level with local experts, schools and other non governmental organizations. Our programmes strengthen existing education systems in Tanzania by collaborating with governmental and private schools to understand and address the challenges preventing vulnerable children from achieving a basic primary education."
The dresses come in a handful of unique designs and prints which are all as eye catching as my one! With Shika's incredible charity work and ethics producing such beautiful high quality garments, it makes me wonder- why can't all clothes be like this?
