Today marks the beginning of Fashion Revolution Week, which recognises eight years since the tragedy of the Rana Plaza factory collapse which killed 1,138 people on April 24th 2013.
This is a time to come together as a global community to help create a better fashion industry.
At Artisan & Fox we honour our artisans by fostering, celebrating and rewarding their skills and craftsmanship. Our mission is to bring these creative and hardworking people to the world stage. Through reinvesting our profits back into our artisan partners and social enterprises, we empower our artisans through sustainable development in a way that benefits their local economy.
As always, we are committed to being transparent and amplifying the voices of those across our supply chain. We believe that you have the right to know who, where, and how your piece was made. We agree with Fashion Revolution in believing that transparency is the first step to help transform the fashion industry.
This year Fashion Revolution Week is recognising the interconnectedness of human rights and the rights of nature.
“We cannot continue to extract dwindling resources from an already stressed natural world, pollute our land and our oceans, fall far short of climate change targets and dump our waste on the shoulders of countries we have culturally depleted. Nor can we continue to allow big business to profit whilst supply chain workers struggle to live in dignity.”
- Fashion Revolution, 2021
In light of this, we thought it would it would be appropriate this year to highlight what Artisan & Fox is doing to help reduce our impact on the environment.
Up-Cycled Materials
We have three collections in our Kenyan Jewellery range, these are our Savannah Brass, Golden Geometry and Shapes & Sand collections. All of these pieces are handcrafted from up-cycled brass. Our Kenyan artisans, Ojiko, Elijah and Andrew, all buy second hand disused brass and recycle it by hand-forging each piece of scrap metal into beautiful statement jewellery.
A piece of brass being worked into shape by Artisan Elijah
Not only does this help contribute to reducing metal waste otherwise destined for landfill, but it also assists in the shift towards a more circular local economy, where materials are being reimagined and used for longer.
100% Natural and Biodegradable
Many of the goods from our Mexican Conscious Lifestyle Range are handmade using 100% natural and sustainably sourced materials, which also makes these products completely biodegradable.
For example, our MAGUEY Crocheted Body Sponge is made entirely from fibres of the Agave plant – known locally as Maguey. And our CARRIZO Drinking Straws are made from the abundant river reed Carrizo. Harvested by hand in Oaxaca, both of these practical products naturally decompose without producing harmful toxins like a standard plastic loofah or straw - both of which are non-biodegradable and therefore contribute to harmful waste. For example, according to figures published in the journal Science, it is estimated that between 4.8 and 12.7 million tonnes of plastic enter the ocean each year.
The harvesting of our CARRIZO Drinking Straws
Our JIPIJAPA Palm Wall Décor pieces are handwoven by a small collective of artisans in Southern Mexico. The woven fan is made from Jipijapa Palm which is attached to a circle of Jabin wood. The pastel pink and blue décor pieces use dye derived from the Chacxiu plant and natural indigo. Even though these pieces are designed to last a lifetime, again, their biodegradable nature means that when they are disposed of, they too will break down naturally.
The Jipijapa palm hung out to dry before being woven
Reusable Products and Packaging
However, rather than simply just disposing of products, it is always important, where you can, to reuse as much as possible. As an example, after a burn time of thirty hours, the clay candle holders from both our QUEMAR and BARRO Beeswax Candles can be cleaned out and re-purposed as a cup to serve snacks, salsa, or even hold succulents.
Our BARRO Beeswax Candle
We also keep our packaging fully un-branded with the intention for you to share the love by being able to re-use or re-gift it.
One of our un-branded canvas pouches
At Artisan & Fox, we value our artisans, offer transparency, and promise to continue to endeavour to be more environmentally conscious.
Here are some concrete actions you can take to participate this week:
- Download a poster and use your window and creativity to spread the word.
- Join Fashion Revolution on their youtube channel for a series of live conversations, global summits and virtual workshops to explore fashion's issues and collaborative solutions.
- Tag a brand you are wearing on social media and ask them #WhoMadeMyClothes?
See how you can get involved with Fashion Revolution Week by heading over to their website.
Sources:
https://science.sciencemag.org/content/347/6223/768
https://www.fashionrevolution.org/
0 comments