Sunday 22 April 2012

oh so Shika!

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?




To find out more about purchasing one of these ethical garments, please contact The Fair Shop here. To find out more about the charity that produces them and how you can get involved, please contact Shika here.

Sunday 15 April 2012

Sustainable Business Awards 2012

Green Fashion has this year entered the giddy realms of the Guardian Sustainable Business Awards in the form of Safia Minney. Safia is the founder of People Tree, one of the first and most reputable of Green Fashion business's in the UK and Japan. She has been nominated for 'Guardian Sustainable Business Leader of the Year 2012' and with your help she could win!

The title is awarded to the business leader who over the last 12 months has given the most hard work, dedication and innovation to corporate sustainability. The winner must be seen to be driving the sustainable agenda forward and to be inspiring change outside of their own business.

With this nomination, ethical fashion has been recognised as being a viable and profitable business venture as well as being a sustainable one. This nomination proves that Sustainable Fashion is growing in success and recognition. Winning this award would celebrate Green Fashion's role in the sustainable business economy and most importantly would give Safia Minney the recognition that she deserves for pioneering and driving forward the Green Fashion industry. Vote for Safia here!





Left to right: Harriet Lamb (Executive Director of the Fairtrade Foundation), Alexa Chung (Presenter, Model and Fairtrade Supporter), Safia Minney (Founder of People Tree)

Picture from here