At an ethical fashion exhibition held at Shin-Maru Building on December 11, 2014, four panelists engaged in a lively discussion on the themes of "Ethical fashion opening up a new world" and "Can fashion make people happy?" The following is a report of the Q&A session.
--What does ITC do?
Arancha Gonzalez (ITC): ITC, a UN agency, works to lead the world in a better direction, aiming to 1) reduce poverty, 2) create jobs, and 3) advance the status of women through EFI.
--Please tell us about the purpose and activities of EFI.
Simone Cipriani (EFI): The biggest concern for companies in different industries right now is our footprint (the burden humans have on the environment). We have produced many products that are harmful to the global environment. We believe we need to somehow offset this, so we are doing good for the earth by using the hands of artisans living in impoverished countries like Africa and Haiti to create products! We are working to change from footprints to handprints.
--What is your view on ethical fashion?
Stella Jean (Stella Jean Designer): My job is to give meaning to fashion. My role is to fuse different cultures, developing and developed, north and south. I fuse different cultures to create a new style. What's more, wouldn't it be wonderful if we could put people suffering from poverty to work and improve their lives? If fashion can do it, surely the real world can too? Now is the time to come up with new concepts for the world, add new perspectives, and take action. Times are changing! (Stella Jean women's items are sold at Isetan Shinjuku, and men's items at United Arrows.)
--About meeting EFI, the birth of TEGE, and ethics.
Hirofumi Kurino (United Arrows Senior Advisor): I believe our job is to introduce interesting and wonderful things from around the world. When a journalist introduced me to EFI, I was very attracted to the idea of a project that would allow people to make things in Kenya, Burkina Faso, and Haiti. It was no different from the start of any of my previous work. However, the content was different. When I visited the countries, I was impressed by the lively work of the women called artisans. I realized that participating in this project would change the future of the fashion business.

--What has changed as a result of this work?

Simone Cipriani (EFI): We want to quantify the results of our work in Kenya and Haiti and let the world know about them. Here are the latest figures:
94% of artisans improved their skills through technical support.
The quality of 86% of artisans' daily meals improved significantly.
100% of female artisans gained confidence and gained respect from their husbands and children at home.
90% of artisans are now able to pay half or more of their school tuition fees.
61% of artisans are now able to save money.
88% of local small-scale producers said that financial independence has made a big difference to their lives.
This is where a new fashion system begins.

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