Dame Vivienne Westwood is an unstoppable force. Instead of heading towards retirement, the designer is concerning herself with campaigning for any better world, and travelling all the way to Kenya is all part and parcel of her mission.
Her Ethical Fashion
Hermes Birkin 40 Africa Collection for the e-tailer comprises handbags and totes created with from a variety of refuse, from flip flops to old tent fabric, and changed into covetable accessories by impoverished people in Kenya, through fair labour conditions.
"What I do, making
hermes bags, can create a difference. This project gives people control over their lives - charity doesn't give control, it does the opposite, it makes them dependant," she says. "These people have more control over their lives and may therefore choose not to exploit the environment because they have an alternative way of making money."
"Our project enables some of the world's poorest people to enter fashion's value chain as producers, while also allowing designers, who wish to source ethically, to do so knowing their collaborators in the slums of Nairobi," said Simone Cipriani, head of the International Trade Centre.
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