An important debut. A debut that says a lot about how Lineapelle is the reference global fair for the fashion and luxury industries, and not just for style and product. At Fieramilano Rho, in fact, The Ethical Fashion Initiative will be present for the first time (program by the UN that has many projects, objectives, and stories to tell. Simone Cipriani, the creator of The Ethical Fashion Initiative tells us all about them.
The Ethical Fashion Initiative
“The Ethical Fashion Initiative – explains Cipriani – is a regular activity of the UN and WTO’s International Trade Center. It consists of a group of projects that mainly does three things”. The first: “It manages a specific supply chain from Africa (and when it was possible, Afghanistan), that manufactures luxury textiles, including organic cotton, pluvial cotton and organic dye”. The second: “It manages an accelerator for emerging African fashion brands”. The third: “It acts as an advocacy center for SDG’s and sustainability with which we created a due diligence system shared with CMNI that has been adopted by Italian brands and tested by Others in Europe”.
Brand involvement
“Brands get involved – continues Cipriani – in the supply chain because we manufacture accessorial materials and products for fashion brands collaborating with us on product development. As far as production goes, we do it in Africa via a chain that is under our control. It’s made of social enterprises that give work to women and young people coming from difficult conditions. With regards to accelerating brands, emerging ones are involved and supported by the larger ones”.
Sustinable vision
“We have thousands of workers in Sub-Saharan Africa – explains Cipriani -. Our client list includes some of the largest European fashion brands and, most importantly, we are working on creating a sustainability management system that will help many fashion companies to simplify their processes and produce annual sustainability reports that are clear, comparable and aligned with new European legislations on sustainability”.
Lineapelle 101
What can be expected from the debut at Lineapelle 101? “We expect to widen our client portfolio as suppliers of luxury materials and accessories for the fashion industry. We aren’t participating in any other fair, but we at fashion week we present African designers and organize events. Up until now we have preferred direct B2B to fairs. I am very happy to begin this collaboration with Lineapelle. Additionally, when I was young, I worked in the leather segment, and I remember well the atmosphere and importance that Lineapelle brings to the fashion industry”.
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