Fashion Manifesto
Cotton is not the natural and harmless fibre we like to think it is. Conventionally farmed, it is one of the world’s dirtiest and most lethal crops. Accounting for 16% of global insecticide releases- more than any other single crop. There are 3 million pesticide poisonings a year, causing over 20 000 deaths among agricultural worker
It’s time for a change, 2008 is the year that fashion and sustainability intersect, we can’t ignore the plight of our planet or our selfish choices anymore.
As a designer, I want to emphasise the benefits of organic farming: the local farmers are healthier and have an increased income because of the premium designers are willing to pay for organically farmed cotton, better long term yields and more say for farmers and their communities. It is also better for the soil and the environment. For too long ethically produced and organic fabrics have meant sacrificing style and fashion sense. Moksa is the place where beauty doesn’t mean pain. As a designer, using organic cotton means benefiting both people and the planet
Our main objectives are to make a substantial financial profit whilst adhering to the following nine principles which are the cornerstone of the business model
1. Providing a stylish solution to counteract fast, cheap fashion and damaging patterns of fashion consumption
2. Suppoting fair wages, disempowered and excluded sections of society and workers' rights
3. Supporting sustainable livelihoods
4. Addressing toxic pesticide and chemical use
5. Using and / or developing eco- friendly fabrics and components
6. Minimizing water use
7. Recycling and addressing energy efficiency and waste
8. Developing or promoting sustainability standards for fashion
9. Resources, training and/ or awareness raising initiatives
Fashion’s main function is to inspire. By realising that we live in the earthly plane but we are also inhabitants of the of heavenly plane, by aligning our form and our function, we can achieve some planet consciousness and live lives a little bigger and more significant than the latest handbag.