REPOST! Read more at http://www.care2.com/greenliving/the-world-of-fair-trade-apparel-a-qa-with-pranas-nicole-bassett.html.
The World of Fair Trade Apparel: A Q&A With PrAna’s Nicole Bassett
Clothes may make the man, but who makes the clothes?
This is the question every conscious consumer asks before they make a purchase. Were the farmers that produced the cotton for my t-shirt compensated fairly? Was it sewn in safe working conditions? Fair Trade Certification is still relatively new in the clothing world compared to the food industry, but the growth in availability and demand is steadily increasing. Companies like prAna, Oliberté, Patagonia, PACT and Indigenous Designs are a few of the companies who have set the scene for fair trade clothing.
We talked with Nicole Bassett, Director of Sustainability at prAna to find out more about their company’s strategies and successes in going from a garage-based business in 1992 to a powerful force of good in the industry.
prAna was the first major company to bring Fair Trade apparel to market in the USA. What was that process like?
It was a bumpy ride. There were a lot of questions we had to figure out to see if Fair Trade could even work in apparel. [We] had to make a product and we needed our customers to want it. Luckily all the pieces came together and we now have a wide Fair Trade product offering. Also major brands like West Elm and Patagonia are now doing Fair Trade.
The positive impact of Fair Trade goes beyond workers to the families and communities behind the products. Where have you seen the biggest impacts?
I have seen firsthand how it has changed workers’ lives—giving them access to communication tools with management and receiving funds to improve their personal lives. In addition, we support Fair Trade Organic cotton farmers, with the goal of ensuring that these farmers see organic farming as a sustainable livelihood and take care of their local environment and communities.
Your business has a three-part sustainability focus—from the materials in your products, to the materials and energy servicing your business, to people and their working conditions. Which area has been the greatest challenge?
Interestingly they have different challenges, so it feels like we have to create three strategies. For our products and supply chain, the challenges in general come from our size and our ability to effect change. While we have made a lot of progress to access more sustainable materials and better factories, it is slower than we would like as we don’t have a lot of buying power or leverage to change factories or suppliers. So we chip away where we can.
The resources to service our business come from getting everyone on board to make different decisions every day—to use better materials and make better decisions. Essentially we are educating the whole company to work differently. This is time intensive on top of making sure the business is running well. So our challenge is getting the time of all employees and using their time well. We have made a lot of progress and have leveraged our early adopters, but we are also human and hard to change!
How important is transparency in your business operations?
This is probably one of the biggest drivers for us to be able to have an honest conversation with our customers and our factory partners. There are so many issues and questions that come up, so we need to know our supply chain and how to respond to inquiries. Some of our supply chains are much more transparent than others, and we have a lot of work to do to get to where we feel comfortable with every garment, trim, fabric etc. But it is an important part of our sustainability program.
What is your advice for new businesses with a desire to operate sustainably?
Build it in from the get go. It is actually harder to change your business [to become more sustainable] than if you have strong standards from the beginning. For example, when a company is used to things costing a certain amount, the cost increase of adding in a more sustainable material, dye stuff, or factory is harder to back in.
My other advice is to go for your ideals out of the gate and leverage tools and resources already developed. Some really smart people have been working on these issues for years, so ask brands that you admire questions, access information through Textile Exchange or the Sustainable Apparel Coalition and if you are in the Outdoor Industry through the OIA Sustainability Working Group. There is no need to reinvent the wheel!
We were recently featured on Care2's blog! Thank you Andrea Moore and Care2 for the great coverage of an important issue.
Please check out the original post and Care2's website at http://www.care2.com/greenliving/the-world-of-fair-trade-apparel-a-qa-with-pranas-nicole-bassett.html
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