Dear Friend,
This edition of the newsletter is published a bit earlier than usual and is set to cover all NYC events that celebrate Fashion Revolution Week, so plan your week wisely and let me know which events you enjoyed the most!
What is Global Fashion Revolution Week you may ask? It is a week (April 23-29) of the international campaign that highlights the unsafe conditions and poor pay for over 75 million people who work in fashion and textiles. The week is accompanied by events across the world that are set to raise an awareness of the true state of the fashion industry these days. It all started with the movement fueled by hashtag #WhoMadeMyClothes is part of Fashion Revolution Week meant to remember the April 24, 2013 Rana Plaza factory fire in Bangladesh, resulted in over 1,100 deaths. This tragedy made very clear how disconnected brands and consumers, from those who manufacture clothes and what kind of conditions they work in. Fashion Revolution's goal is to influence a change for those who work in the industry: provide supply chain transparency, protect factory workers, and create brands that are more conscious.
On Thursday, April 26th Balanced Fashion is collaborating with Get The People, a purpose-driven creative agency, on an immersive Fashion Revolution Week event on the topic of branding and storytelling. It is going to be a dynamic evening of networking, conscious fashion conversations, all-star panelists, cocktails, brand pop-ups, community building and an after party.
Our panelists are Dana Davis, Director of Sustainability at Mara Hoffman, Shivam Punjya, Founder of Behno, Tabea Soriano, Co-Founder of Futuremade and Scot Tatelman, Co-Founder of STATE Bags. The panel will be moderated by Megan Murphy-Bratich, a Co-Founder of Get the People and Take Ne Alive. We’ll explore the power of amazing branding and how story-telling can empower sustainable brands to connect a broader audience of conscious mainstream consumers. We’ll dive into a rich discussion with industry experts to find out what’s worked and what hasn’t when it comes to creating a compelling brand experience. We’ll navigate through the psychology of consumer behavior and why being sustainable and ethical simply isn’t enough. Brand activations will include: Emme by Korina, Take Me Alive, Jibs Life, and Querencia Studio. RSVP here if you haven't yet, spots are almost sold out!
News Digest:
Sustainability
- Reformation Plans To Keep 75,000 Pieces Of Clothing Out Of Landfills This Year - Fashionista
- 10 Reasons to Celebrate on Earth Day - Inc
- How One Designer Is Making Shoes That Get Better With Age - Refinery29
- Inside The V&A's Fashioned From Nature Exhibition - Vogue
- What the Rana Plaza Disaster Changed About Worker Safety - Racked
- About Sustainability. So, Why Don't They Shop This Way? - Business of Fashion
- Sustainability Report 2017: How H&M aims to lead the way to a sustainable fashion future - Fashion United
- Startup Kloters Introduce Genderless T-shirt That Cleans Air - FashNerd
Technology/Business
- The Beginner'S Guide To How Blockchain Could Change The Ethical Fashion Game - Fashionista
- Most of our investments will be early to mid-stage, but we would never confine ourselves to a strict bracket given the potential for opportunities at other stages - TechCrunch
- Robots Will Replace Humans in Retail, Says JD.com's Richard Liu - Business of Fashion
- What Does the Amazon Echo Look Mean for Personal Style? - Racked
- How design schools are teaching the modern business of fashion - Glossy
- Gen Z shoppers expect technology to facilitate retail experience - Luxury Daily
- Fashion aggregators duke it out in a crowded market - Glossy
Events
Monday, April 23rd
4:00pm - 6:00pm Fashion Revolution Launch Night: Brooklyn Fashion + Design Accelerator
Open Studios is a collaboration with select brands, designers and artisan as part of the globally recognized #whomademyclothes initiative. It is an opportunity to shine a light on a group of innovative emerging designers – and some established trailblazers – who are finding alternative ways of producing fashion that is mindful of the planet and its resources. They all work in very different ways but are united in their mission to make fashion better. Price: Free Location: 630 FLUSHING AVE, SUITE 704, Brooklyn
6:00pm - 9:30pm Cut Through the Noise: Workshop for Industry Professionals
Join a deep dive open discussion led by experts in the areas of brands, press, and retail and learn how you can implement strategies today to create a more ethical and sustainable fashion industry no matter where you are in your career or place of work. Speakers: Alejandra Pollak - The New Standard Institute, Stephanie Sica - Orchard and Broome, Whitney Bauck - Fashionista, and Cullen Schwarz - DoneGood Price: $42 Location: 1803 NYC 82 Reade Street Underground Cellar
In Intro to Social Entrepreneurship, Marcos Salazar, CEO of Be Social Change + Career Coach, will provide you with a comprehensive overview of the social entrepreneurship space and share insights on the fundamentals for creating a successful social venture (for profit and nonprofit). Price: Free Location: Centre for Social Innovation, 601 West 26th Street, #325
Tuesday, April 24th
4:30pm - 8:00pm Fashion Revolution Week: Tracing the Journey Conference
Come, get a chance to listen to fashion and sustainability experts at the Fashion Institute of Technology and hear them talk about transparency in supply chain, fair trade practices and the importance of sustainability and what can be done today to make a positive impact on Earth. Get a chance to interact with the sustainability experts in the Fashion Industry and network with them from 7.30-8.00pm. See how you can make a change and see how they did it! Speakers: Amy Hall (Director of Social Consciousness, Eileen Fisher), Andrea Reyes (Chair, NYC Fair Trade Coalition), Kristen Luong (Kromagnon). Price: Free Location: Haft Theater, Fashion Institute of Technology, 227 West 27th Street
6:00pm - 8:00pm How Brands Can Navigate the Shifting Landscape of Identity
Hear from Ambika Gautum Pai, Partner and Co-Head of Strategy at Wolf & Wilhelmine, Michael Pollak, Chief Brand Officer & Co-Founder of Heyday, and Suraj Patel, Democratic Congressional candidate for NY-12. Our conversation will be moderated by Naz Riahi, Founder and Creative Director at Bitten. Price: Free Location: LMHQ 150 Broadway, Fl 20th
6:00pm - 8:00pm Rana Plaza 5 Years Later: Amplifying Workers Voices Globally
In this panel, we bring together Bangladeshi and US-based artists, activists and scholars to reflect on Rana Plaza 5 years later. In addition to marking the violence and tragedy of lost lives, we hope to initiate a discussion on how we might think and act creatively in supporting workers’ efforts to organize across the supply chain from garment production in Dhaka to retail workers in New York City. Price: Free Location: 20 Cooper Sq 4th Floor
6:30 - 9:00pm Insight into a Changing Landscape: The role of sustainable and ethical fashion
7:30pm WorkLife w/ Malcolm Gladwell
With Malcolm Gladwell (Author, The Tipping Point & Outliers) & Adam Grant (Prof. Mgmt & Psychology, Wharton). Join the two bestselling authors and podcast hosts for a wide-ranging conversation about work, spanning questions of how to deal with narcissism at work, what it takes to build effective teams and strong relationships, and why we’re so often wrong about our colleagues’ personalities (and our own). Price: $35 Location: Kaufmann Concert Hall, 1395 Lexington Ave
6:30pm Philanthropic Fashion Media - A Truly Meaningful Disrupter
Live podcast recording by MouthMedia. Request access here. Price: TBD Location: TBD
Wednesday, April 25th
6:30 - 7:30pm Exclusive: Digital Giving with Natalia Vodianova
Join one of the world’s most successful supermodels, Natalia Vodianova, in a session dedicated to the power of giving back to the community. The fashion celebrity and philanthropist will talk about what inspires her to promote fundraising that is engaging, fun, and easy for everyone. She’ll share the Elbi app she created to connect people, brands, and charities through compelling video stories. Price: Free Location: Apple Store SoHo, 103 Prince Street
6:30 - 9:00pm Be Social Change Event: New York Sustainability Connector
Join Be Social Change, EcoCult, Fair Trade Coalition, Impact Travel Alliance, International Society of Sustainability Professionals-NYC, Slow Money NYC and Braceletote for the New York Sustainability Connector, a facilitated networking event focused on connecting NYC’s sustainability community to create new collaborations and grow each other’s networks. Price: $25 Location: Prime Produce 424 W 54th St (between 9th and 10th ave)
6:00pm - 9:00pm Fashion Revolution Week - DIY Indigo Bandhani Scarf Dyeing
During Fashion Revolution week millions of people are encouraged to ask brands, "who made my clothes". This DIY event will give you an inside look into the world of traditional Indian manufacturing techniques, as you learn hands-on how clothing can be made ethically and sustainably. Join us at Brand Assembly NY for a night of indigo DIY lead by Melanie DiSalvo using natural indigo from Botanical Colors. Price: $15 Location: Brand Assembly 56 West 22nd Street Floor 9
Thursday, April 26th
6:00 - 9:00pm How badass brand storytelling can reshape the future of sustainable fashion.
Get The People + Balanced Fashion Present: A Fashion Revolution Week event with Dana Davis, Director of Sustainability at Mara Hoffman, Shivam Punjya, Founder of Behno, Tabea Soriano, Co-Founder of Futuremade and Scot Tatelman, Co-Founder of Statebags. Brand activations will include: Emme by Korina, Take me Alive, Jibs Life, Querencia Studio. This will be an immersive evening of networking, conscious fashion, compelling conversation, all-star panelists, cocktails, pop-ups, community building and an after party. Price: $20 Location: Freehold, 45 S 3rd St, Brooklyn
Friday, April 27th
5:30pm - 8:00pm Eco Fashion Expo
Our goal is to promote sustainable fashion choices and values in the Hunter and NYC community. We want to open people’s eyes to the great possibilities that “trash” can become, encouraging reuse and repurposing. Our student designers will be repurposing old materials (clothes, curtains, bags, etc.) Why waste when you can create? Price: Free Location: Hunter College, 695 Park Avenue, Hunter North 543 (Black Box Theater)
7:00pm - 10:00pm Stitch, Swap & Shop presented by Black Girls Sew & Afroista
Sustainability for our vantage point. In honor of Fashion Revolution Week Black Girls Sew & Afroista have partnered up to bring you this Dope SWAP MEET! A Swap Meet, is a gathering where you exchange your items for others items i.e. shoes, hats, clothes, accessories. We are also hosting various Sustainable Vendors & Sewing lessons through out the day! Price: $12 Location: Make Manifest Brooklyn 382 Tompkins Avenue Brooklyn
Saturday, April 27th
11:30 am - 2:30 pm Net Impact x Fashion Revolution – Panel Discussion + Clothing Swap
Please join us as we engage in insightful conversations regarding what we as consumers can do to easily play our part in waste reduction in the fashion industry with Lauren Fay (Executive Director at Fashion Revolution USA), Celine Semaan (CEO of Slow Factory), Jessica Schreiber (Founder of Fabscrap), and Erika Wiemann (Sr. Brand Partner at Eileen Fisher). Price: Free Location: 117 11th Street Apt. B
Sunday, April 28th
11:00am - 3:00pm LOVED CLOTHES LAST: Everyday Consciousness + Clothing Swap
Fashion Revolution, Maiyet, and Model Activist Present LOVED CLOTHES LAST: Everyday Consciousness + Clothing Swap. Join Fashion Revolution, Maiyet and the Model Activist group in support of Fashion Revolution Week’s message “Loved Clothes Last,” featuring am intimate community clothing swap and panel discussion on "How To Be A More Conscious Consumer." Price: $20 Location: Maiyet 16 Crosby Street
1:00pm - 6:00pm Fashion Intelligence Symposium: Fashion in the Workplace
The theme of the 2018 symposium is Fashion in the Workplace. Appropriate dressing and expression of style at work have become more complex to women today. What is casual? What is appropriate? What message does my style send regarding moving up in my career? How do I assess the fashion culture in my new workplace if I change jobs or careers? Price: $0 – $86.5 Location: Fashion Institute of Technology Katie Murphy Amphitheatre Seventh Avenue at 27 Street
3:00 pm - 7:00 pm Shop for a Cause – Alternative Apparel Soho
Alternative is excited to be a part of Fashion Revolution Week. Join us for an in-store event April 28th. 10% of sales generated during the event will go to Fashion Revolution. Stop by, shop and learn more about Fashion Revolution and Alternative’s commitment to social, global & environmental responsibility. Price: Free Location: Alternative Apparel, 281 Lafayette St
Monday, April 30th
You'll learn from the innovative market research and data analytics work being done by these and many other brands and see what's over the horizon and heading your way at NEXT. Price: $1,699 Location: New York Hilton Midtown. 1335 Avenue of the Americas
Friday, May 4th
8:30am-5:30pm Fashion Sustainability Summit
A one-day conference focused on processes, practices, and tangible solutions and ways a fashion business can lead in climate change, environmental sustainability, and ethical responsibility. Price: TBD Location: LIM College 216 E 45th St
Wednesday, May 9th
7:30 - 9:00pm Fashion Addicts Anonymous
Fashion Addicts Anonymous is a weekly community led forum diving into personal experiences of the fashion industry from a diverse group of consumers, makers, and industry professional participants. Some have been on the path for years while others just learned what the term means. This community led discussion is for anyone and everyone. Young or old. Fashionable style icon or t-shirt and jeans kind of pal. esa believes that having conversation with one another is one of the most important parts of the path towards sustainability. FAA is a reminder that we aren't alone as we realize the negative effects of the industry and begin to explore how we can change that. Price: Free Location: Zero Waste Daniel, 369 Hooper Street, Brooklyn
Thursday, May 10th
10:00am - 6:00pm TechDay New York
Featuring 500 of most innovative startups, accelerator programs, tech talent & investors. Price: $10 Location: Pier 94, 711 12th Ave
7:00pm - 9:00pm The Future of Sustainable Living: Leading a More Eco-Friendly Life in NYC
Join us for a networking + panel event with innovators in the sustainability space creating products, services, and platforms to make sustainable living affordable and accessible. From paperless toilet paper to a zero waste grocery store to sustainable cleaning tools for the home, this diverse panel will share their personal narratives, experiences, and values in how they are creating a more sustainable future and help NYC reach its goal to send zero waste to landfills by 2030. Price: $20 Location: Prime Produce 424 W 54th St (between 9th and 10th aves)
Wednesday, May 16th
6:30pm - 9:00pm Fireside Chat with Amanda Curtis (Nineteenth Amendment)
Amanda Curtis is the Cofounder and CEO of Nineteenth Amendment. Join the Start Up Grind team to learn more about her work at Nineteenth Amendment. Price: $20 Location: Alley powered by Verizon 119 W 24th St, Fl 2
Cool Finds:
- FIT x Neue – Fashion Tech Project - Course at FIT
- The Future of Fashion: AI Design, Mass-Custom Production, and Virtual Clothing
- 21 Sustainability Innovations and Initiatives that might change the world
- Reprise: Plant-based activewear for a cleaner workout
Stay Inspired,
Nataliya