Pachacuti - Panama Hats and Fair Trade Clothing

Interesting and comprehensive feature on eco fashion by Daisy Dumas in National Geographic Green, Summer 2010, examining which materials really are better for the environment.  The article covers natural fibres, natural man-made fibres and synthetic man-made fibres.

The feature includes interviews with myself and Orlsola da Castro, co-founder of From Somewhere and curator of Estethica, the ethical section of London Fashion Week http://www.fromsomewhere.co.uk/ and Dr Kate Fletcher, author of a book which I can highly recommend on Sustainable Fashion and Textiles http://www.katefletcher.com/

You can read the whole article online here: http://www.greennatgeo.co.uk/

Pages 32 to 39

In July I attended the National Awards for Excellence in which Pachacuti was a finalist in the International category for our impact on Millenium Development Goals.  The other finalists were all huge multinationals such as Barclays Bank, Reuters, Cisco Systems and several more.  The award ceremony took place at the Royal Albert Hall and and coincided with a celebration of the Prince of Wales 25th anniversary as president of Business in the Community, with the ceremony hosted by Stephen Fry.
Pachacuti was shortlisted in the International category which recognises a company's impact on addressing Millenium Development Goals.  Pachacuti was one of  three East Midlands businesses shortlisted in their categories, the others being Northern Foods and Rolls Royce. 

The International Award was won by Barclays Bank who, together with The Guardian, have supported the Katine project in Uganda which has increased access to clean water.  We were delighted and surprised when it was announced that we were Highly Commended in the International category. Also Highly Commended in the category was Reuters for the information service provided to the Indian farming community via mobile phones.   

Pachacuti's award was for the Sustainable Fair Trade Management System which we have implemented over the past two years.  Six months ago, Pachacuti became the first company in the world to be certified against this new standard and are now able to label all of our clothing and accessories as Fair Trade Certified UK 0001.  In addition to paying a fair wage to producers of our clothing and Panama hats, Pachacuti is involved in improving all aspects of their social and economic wellbeing, from providing training classes to purchasing glasses and paying for cataract operations.  Around 70 organisations worldwide are now using tools and methodology developed by myself and my team in order to assess the Fair Trade development of their producers.

I hope that being Highly Commended for the International award proves that you do not need to be a large company in order to make an impact on achieving Millennium Development Goals. I believe that every small business in the UK could potentially affect the lives of their overseas suppliers through ensuring high social and environmental standards throughout their supply chain.

I just came across this article by Liz Jones of the Daily Mail.  Wonderful to be in her Top 5 shops in the UK!

Hail Mary Queen of Shops: here are my top five tiny independent stores

Having reversed the fortunes of small fashion boutiques and charity shops, Mary Portas's new series on BBC2 that begins tonight focuses on the plight of the small independent shop -- the baker and the off licence and the deli. I hate shopping in supermarkets: they lure you in with free parking and cheap food, and you always end up spending  £400 on stuff you know will go off before you can eat it. Huge chains like Topshop merely make my head spin. As Mary says in the show tonight, unless we patronise small stores they will disappear from our high streets. Here is my top five ... do feel free to add your favourite local shops

1. Palette London, 21 Canonbury Lane, London N1(020 7288 7428).

This small boutique has the most wonderful collection of vintage fashion from Ossie Clark, Oscar de la Renta, Halston, Chanel et al. The 1970s Guccis is wonderful, as are the bags, shoes and jewellery. The owner is very knowledgeable. Keira Knightley is a fan

2. Pachacuti (above right) is at 19 Dig Street, Ashbourne in Derbyshire (01335 300 003). Don't let the fact it is fair trade and organic put you off: there is delicious knitwear from alpaca wool, Panama hats and a large range of children's wear. A friendly, family run shop in a beautiful part of the world

3. The Dulverton Delicatessen,  Somerset. This is my local food shop, and although I am not one for eating or cooking, this shop, run by the beautiful and knowledgable Emily, might well convert me. Local cheeses, juices, cakes, bread and vegetables, as well as the sort of unusual ingredients you expect only to find in London. Emily will order anything you fancy, from vegan cheese to eco friendly  firelighters

4. Atelier Abigail Ahern (below), 137 Upper Street, London N1 (0207 354 8181). This is an Aladdin's cave of good taste: finds from Paris flea pits, exquisite chandeliers made from porcelain by local artisans, lamps, candles, Rastafarian floor cushions

5. Mee, 9A Bartlett Street, Bath (01225 442250). Heidi Klein swimwear, trinkets for the home -- a bestseller is a king size velvet throw for £195 --  silk jersey draped dresses by New York designer Yoana Baraschi, a red carpet range of dresses by David Meister. What is different about this lovely little boutique -- Vanessa Paradis is a fan -- is that the sales assistants offer a really personal service, and will spend a lot of time making sure you choose exactly the right outfit 

On Friday, around 400 children from St Oswald's and Parkside schools in Ashbourne wore sunglasses to school.  The idea of this fundraising exercise was to raise money  for weavers in Ecuador who have poor eyesight yet cannot afford to purchase glasses.  It is a unique way for the children to have fun expressing themselves while learning about global citizenship and helping to make a real and lasting positive impact in the lives of others.

As part of Pachacuti's Fair Trade Certification, every year, together with each producer group, Pachacuti creates an annual action plan that allows producers to direct how Fair Trade will benefit them the most. In 2008 one embroidery group all complained of poor eyesight. In Spring 2009, we paid for eye tests, glasses and eye operations for the 20 workers who required them, totalling $800.

After the success of this project, Pachacuti approached  our co-operative of women Panama hat weavers based in Ecuador and enquired if the 300+ weavers might need glasses. The answer was a resounding YES. 

The women live in a poor, rural region of Southern Ecuador and rely on the weaving of hats as their primary source of income. This traditional skill is demanding work and requires good eyesight to produce quality hats.  To remedy this situation Pachacuti and the Co-operative decided to make the purchasing of glasses for the weavers their primary goal for their 2010 Fair Trade Action Plan.

Pachacuti arranged for eye exams to be given to the weavers and it was determined just over 200 of the women required glasses, with 65 weavers being prioritised as needing glasses urgently. This was beyond the financial means of Pachacuti and the co-operative to purchase.  It was with the help of a group of Ashbourne residents that the Sunglasses for Glasses concept was born as a means to achieve the funding for this project. It is our hope that, through the involvement of area school children, we can together raise the money needed for the purchase of the glasses whilst providing an opportunity for the children to learn about global issues and empathy for others.

Sunglasses for Glasses day last week raised enough money for over 30 pairs of glasses, so we are well on our way to our target!  A huge thank you to the schools and children who took part and  I'm looking forward to posting some photographs of our weavers with their new glasses!

Last night I attended the East Midlands Awards for Excellence, along with Sara our Production Manager and Sarah from our Wholesale Department.  As featured in the Financial Times, 6 companies from the East Midlands have been awarded Big Ticks and a further 7 have been reaccredited.  Pachacuti is one of just 3 companies from the East Midlands region who have been shortlisted as National Examples of Excellence and, along with Rolls Royce and Northern Foods, we will be progressing to the national finals within our categories. Pachacuti is a finalist in the International category and our award will be announced personally by Prince Charles on 5 July,the only award category he is announcing on the night!

It was a truly inspiring evening for myself and my staff.  After champagne and canapes, Mandy Yound of Adrenaline Alley in Corby took to the stage.  She told of how she set up the extreme sports park in response to an attack on her son when he was carrying his skateboard.  What started as a small skatepark has turned into the biggest extreme sports centre in the world outside of the US - all run as a Social Enterprise.

After Dinner and the presentation of the Community Impact Awards, Michelle Feeney, CEO of St Tropez, talked about Mac cosmetics.  Michelle used to work for Estee Lauder and, when the company bought Mac, she became their head of Global Communications.  I had no idea at all that all profits from Mac Viva Glam go to the Mac Aids Fund.  It sounds like a truly impressive company and convinced me to linger a little longer next time I pass a Mac Cosmetics counter!

Finally it was time for our Award, the last category award of the night.  Our video looked fantastic on the big screen, showcasing our work on the Sustainable Fair Trade Management System through video and photography with an actor's voiceover. 

We were certainly the smallest of all of the companies receiving awards last night, with other winners including Rolls Royce, Experian, Northern Foods and East Midlands Airport.  However, I think it is so important to show that a small, East Midlands company can not only have a huge impact locally (and we do work closely with our local schools and community) but can have a significant impact Internationally.  I think that the important element of our work on the Sustainable Fair Trade Management System is not just the impact on our 1000 or so producers, but the real development potential which the system offers to small organisations and companies throughout the world as a means of addressing Millenium Development Goals.

We were delighted to receive our Big Tick Award and are excited about the forthcoming National Awards for Excellence on 5 July.

Pachacuti is extremely proud to announce that we have been awarded a Big Tick from Business in the Community.  The award is for the Sustainable Fair Trade Management System which has been implemented at Pachacuti for the past two years, resulting in sustained progress towards Millenium Development Goals amongst our producer groups. We will receive our Big Tick at an Awards ceremony next week.

Moreover, we have been shortlisted as an Example of Excellence in the International category for our work towards Millenium Development Goals and helping to create a replicable model for international development through the SFTMS.   The overall Example of Excellence in the International Category will be presented by Prince Charles on 5th July.  Pachacuti is running alongside Barclays Bank, Thomson Reuter and Cisco Systems for this coveted award.

The Awards for Excellence reward businesses who demonstrate the positive impact they have had on society and also the business benefits created by ensuring that being responsible is integral to their business model.

'Creating Opportunities for Marginalised Producers' is the 1st Standard of the World Fair trade Orgnaization.

We are delighted that our Panama hats which are woven for Pachacuti by weavers in remote areas of the Ecuadorian highlands are now for sale at a Pop-Up shop in Liberty.  These women have very few opportunities open to them: many are single mothers or wives of alcoholic husbands and they are reliant on income from agriculture and hat weaving.  Many are forced to migrate to cities in search of low paid domestic work, leaving behind their culture and their community.

I believe that this is fantastic example of how opportunities can be created for marginalised producers if they are better organised, resourced and supported through the work of Fair Trade.  Pachacuti's producer groups are now able to secure access to one of the most prestigious stores in London under fair trade conditions, providing them with a decent and dignified livelihood.

Great coverage in May 2010 UK Vogue for Pachacuti.