Cool Africa
ETHICAL FASHION THAT ENHANCES THE TRADITION OF CULTURES AND KNOWLEDGE FROM THE AFRICAN CONTINENT
African creativity in the limelight. Several fashion brands were established in recent years in a sector that holds interesting prospects in this great continent. The EFI – Ethical Fashion Initiative a training, work, and development project, supports the growth potential of African fashion, encouraging ethical, sustainable, and creative collaborations with artisans. EFI’s Italian partner is Lai-momo that, after its founding in 1995, became a social cooperative in July of 2016. In partnership with public institutions and private companies, Lai-momo offers an exportable and repeatable model. The objective of its project is to organize activities aimed at asylum seekers and migrants, and, in particular, vocational training, in order to support job placement either in their own countries of origin (Mali, Burkina Faso and other emerging countries) or in Italy and Europe. Cartiera, is a start-up founded in 2017 from the social cooperative, Lai-momo, with which it shares its mission and values. Open within the former industrial complex of the Lama di Reno paper mill (Marzabotto), it is a small business that supplies leather goods recovered from raw materials otherwise destined for disposal. From here, accessories in leather and high-quality fabrics are created by the hands of expert craftsmen. In addition to producing sustainable goods with a low environmental impact, Cartiera’s endeavor also proposes job opportunities. The Ethical Fashion Initiative (EFI) is a flagship program of the International Trade Center (ITC) a Joint Agency of the United Nations and the World Trade Organization(WTO) – founded by Simone Cipriani in 2009 to include artisans and small businesses from developing countries in the international high fashion supply chain. The UN constantly monitors EFI’s results and activities, starting with the impact it has on the communities in which it operates.
Giulia Bulgarelli