This week, the first responsible fashion trade show to be held in the UK, Source Fashion, opened its doors.
Suzanne Ellingham, director of sourcing, explains exclusively to Just Style how Source Fashion is fostering a secure and innovative environment for buyers and brands to source fashion.
Source Fashion, which runs from February 12 through February 14 at Olympia London, aims to assist fashion suppliers and manufacturers in conducting ethical business more quickly and to assist UK consumers in making better purchases, according to Ellingham.
What is unique in this Responsible Fashion Show?
She tells Just Style in an exclusive interview conducted at the event: “Sustainability means so many different things to so many different people. Our objective is to invite manufacturers from all over the world to the show.
To make sure we find the best manufacturers who are acting ethically, we closely collaborate with international governments like China and audit each exhibitor.
She continues, “The responsible fashion sourcing show is for retailers and buyers looking to source better products that are sourced in a more responsible way and it’s also a way to help manufacturers that really struggled during the Covid years, like Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Madagascar.”
Leading UK fashion designer Alice Temperley spoke during sessions about the effects of Brexit and where she gets the materials for her creations. Additionally, there was a catwalk presentation to bring the manufacturers’ clothing to life, with each piece telling a unique sustainable tale.
Ellingham mentions the high quality cotton that is Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS) certified as a trend at the show for ethical fashion sourcing and remarks on how soft the materials are.
The main theme of the show, according to Ellingham, was that all of the manufacturers made sure their raw materials came from a good place. Manufacturers from Peru were also present in large numbers with their Pima cotton on full display.
She emphasizes how difficult it is to work in the current state of the fashion industry in general and the garment manufacturing sector in particular due to a significant amount of excess inventory at the retail level.
She is, however, confident that if clothing manufacturers can find the right people to collaborate with, they will succeed.
Since not every manufacturer can handle a small run of ten orders, she says, “we have a responsibility to assist apparel manufacturers with good practices in locating brands and retailers that want to work with them.”
She adds: “The UK garment manufacturing industry for example should never compete on price – it’s about hand craftsmanship and understanding where they can win.” She also makes the point that brands and retailers will have to pay more if they want clothing to be produced well.
According to Ellingham, the show’s organizers have a strong sense of responsibility that doesn’t end when the event is over.
In fact, the business runs a goodwill marketing initiative called Power of One, which emphasizes how even a small change can have a big impact. Check out the source of the news | Also Read Best FW23 Menswear Accessories Trends
