Whew, what a great night!
This Fairtrade Fortnight the Qld Fair Trade Collective organised an Ethical Fashion Evening. Our goal was to bring together ethical fashion enthusiasts and designers to network, share ideas, learn about ethical trade, and have a great time. And I daresay we succeeded 
The evening was held in the beautiful studio space of the newly-formed Stitchery Collective. This enthusiastic and friendly group of young artists did a brilliant job of organising and decorating in preparation for the night, and their creative spirit infused the space and lent the night a wonderful energy.
Hanging out in the charming Stitchery Collective courtyard while waiting for our guests to arrive
The guests soon arrived and everyone mingled as canapes and drinks were served. Thank you to the lovely volunteers from Oxfam UQ for lending a hand with serving, you did a fantastic job.
Our MCs from Peppermint Magazine introduced a line-up of great speakers.
MC's from Peppermint Magazine
Paula Rogers – who is the Industry Liaison to the Council of Textile & Fashion Industries of Australia, and co-founder chairperson of Fair Traders of Australia – was the first to speak. She told us about some of the challenges of ensuring that textile workers in Australia receive decent pay and working conditions.
Unfortunately, textile workers are often vulnerable to exploitation by unscrupulous dealers due to being immigrants/having difficulty with language and being unfamiliar with the laws that protect them. She told us about the important work that Ethical Clothing Australia is doing to accredit Australian businesses who are doing the right thing, and to ensure that ethical consumers can identify those businesses through the Ethical Clothing Australia label.
For products created outside Australia, Paula introduced us to the newly-created Fair Traders of Australia label. This label is an endorsement program for Australian businesses who conform to the WFTO's 10 Standards of Fair Trade. Already there is quite a range of businesses who have been endorsed under the system, and she and her group are working hard to see this expand in the future.
Paula Rogers (Industry Liaison to the Council of Textile & Fashion Industries of Australia and co-founder chairperson of Fair Traders of Australia)
Our second speaker of the night was Milly Gamlin from Melbourne's The Social Studio. The Social Studio is a social businesses that was set up to train young refugees in fashion design and hospitality, creating beautiful garments from recycled and manufacture-excess materials. She shared with us the story of the Studio, and provided a wonderful example of how we can do business differently; I think she sowed some valuable seeds of inspiration into the minds of the young designers who were in the audience.
Milly Gamlin and student Nicole from The Social Studio
Alice Jones of Sinerji provided us all with another great example of successful ethical business, and how to be the change we want to see in the world. Before Sinerji was created, Alice had become disillusioned with 'business as usual' in the fashion industry. She realised that there was a serious lack of oversight and accountability for where materials were produced and under what conditions. Rather than go with the flow, Alice decided to be proactive, and now Sinerji designs stunning garments with natural dyes on natural fibres, from organic and hand loomed fabrics, all produced under fair working conditions.
Alice Jones (designer and owner of Sinerji)
The final speaker of the evening was Cecilia Granadino from Peru, the head of MINKA, which was the very first organisation in her country to engage in Fair Trade. We were very lucky and honoured to have her visiting Australia for Fair Trade Fortnight, for her to share with us the producers' perspective on Fair Trade and the positive impact it is having on lives in developing countries.
We couldn't have asked for a better speaker; her wit had us charmed and her warmth was infectious. She shared with us some slides of her country, her people and the ways in which they go about their work. We were all struck by the wisdom of their traditional methods and the ingenuity with which they have adapted their work to the requirements of the global market.
Her central message was that Fair Trade is important for her people, not just for providing a decent wage and livelihood, but for valuing and harnessing their culture and methods. For MINKA especially Fair Trade is a means for the indigenous people of Peru to make their contribution to the global market and the cultural exchange through trade. Fair Trade empowers people, and that enriches us all.
Cecilia Grandadino (head of MINKA Fair Trade in Peru)
As Jennifer Nini put it "In just a few hours, she made me laugh, she made me (almost) cry but most of all, she made me think", and I do believe that many of us will go away thinking about what she said for a long time to come.
Throughout the night we had some awesome prizes donated by Fair Trade and ethical businesses. Thank you to Zenana Women, Sinerji, Peppermint Magazine, Moselle Clothing, Fair Story Fashion, Fair Go Trading, Eternal Creation, and The Dharma Door for your generosity and for your support and help in making the night a success. You could see by the smiles on their faces that the winners were very happy to receive your gifts, so thank you from us all.
