Fair Trade Fashion & Design
The “Fair Trade” movement is growing daily. And after having conquered the super-markets the last couple of years, it has now started spreading amongst the high-end fashion and design market.
Big retailer brands, like La Redoute, Marks & Spencer, released fair fashion collections earlier this year. Smaller brands have emerged too, like the french Ideo, who’s collections are partly designed by Matali Crasset.
Max Havelaar has invited ten established belgian fashion designers (Cloé Billiet, Ethic Wear-Marie Cabanac, Françoise Pendville & Isa Tio, L&A Maëthger, Marina Yee, Sofie D’Hoore, Valérie Berckmans, Aleksandra Paszkowska/Y-Dress? and Veronique Branquinho) to design clothes with fair trade cotton. An exhibition is currently on-going.
In Brussels, a new fair trade shop has just opened on 25 October, rue Franklin 97, in the EU district near the Rond-Point Schuman. Under the label BeFair, Rosa Diaz y Cordal, Yolande De Bontridder and Christian De Doncker are selecting the best fair trade articles in contemporary design, household linen, fashion accessories, paper articles and all kind of wellness products with an organic added value. The shop concept and design is done by Michel Penneman (Detrois), our colleague at The White Hotel.
It has become obvious many are going to follow the movement. Many amongst the designers already show interests in environmental and third-world issues, through their work. When are editors going to start acting too? It is now common knowledge that the “new consumers” are willing to spend that little extra for a product they feel has a positive impact on the world. The press loves to report on such initiatives. Fairs and events are spreading like wild-fire all over Europe. It’s like the best no-risk move there is. Seriously, editors, what are you waiting for?
Comment [1]
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Greetings from mexico
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