Ethiopian Gallerist Mesai Haileleul on the Rise of Contemporary African

Many brands have joined the UNFCC Fashion Industry Charter for Climate Action, and made commitments in line with the Paris agreement, but there’s a lot of work to do to reduce emissions. Textiles play a key role. What are ‘preferred fibres’? How sustainable is cotton? Is recycled polyester the answer? What about the new innovations? And how can brands and consumers make the best choices, and avoid greenwashing? Textile Exchange is a global non-profit that seeks to positively impact climate through accelerating the use of preferred fibres across the global textile industry. They aim to get the industry to reduce emissions from fibre and material production by 35 - 45%. Can we do it? What will it take? In this info-rich interview, Simone and Clare ask the expert – Claire Bergkamp, Textile Exchange’s COO. This podcast is brought to you by the Ethical Fashion Initiative. Find out more at https://ethicalfashioninitiative.org/ Our music is from the original production From Kabul to Bamako, music directed by Saïd Assadi. This podcast was produced with the financial support of the European Union. Its contents are the sole responsibility of ITC Ethical Fashion Initiative and do not necessarily reflect the views of the European Union.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Did you know that every year, 3.2 billion trees are cut down to make paper packaging, or fabrics such as rayon and viscose? Many of these trees come from the world’s most ancient and endangered Forests. We're smarter than that, says this week's guest, Nicole Rycroft, Founder and Executive Director of Canopy Planet.  Canopy is on a mission to protect the world’s forests, species, and climate, and to help advance Indigenous communities’ rights. And Nicole wants fashion industry to transition to what she calls 'next generation solutions' - using waste feedstocks instead of virgin trees to make cellulosic fibres. Can we do it? Why is biodiversity such a hot topic? And how are brands, policy makers and investors stepping up?  This podcast is brought to you by the Ethical Fashion Initiative. Find out more at https://ethicalfashioninitiative.org/ Our music is from the original production From Kabul to Bamako, music directed by Saïd Assadi. This podcast was produced with the financial support of the European Union. Its contents are the sole responsibility of ITC Ethical Fashion Initiative and do not necessarily reflect the views of the European Union.    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Independent fashion brands are changing the sustainability conversation globally, but how can they step up their impact? Often it's smaller brands that are leading innovation, but the bigger ones get the attention. Emerging African designers are well-placed to lead the way on authentic sustainability storytelling, but they need to excite investors from the Continent, as well as the global playing field. How can they amplify their message? Who should be listening? What is the role of fashion education and accelerator programmes on moving this forward? In this lively discussion with Nisha Kanabar, CEO and founder of curated African fashion platform Industrie Africa, Simone and Clare discuss the necessity of accurate, effective and persuasive communications around sustainability in for fashion SMEs. This podcast is brought to you by the Ethical Fashion Initiative. Find out more at https://ethicalfashioninitiative.org/ Our music is from the original production From Kabul to Bamako, music directed by Saïd Assadi. This podcast was produced with the financial support of the European Union. Its contents are the sole responsibility of ITC Ethical Fashion Initiative and do not necessarily reflect the views of the European Union.    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How can innovation and artisan craft come together in a large global brand? What is the role of design when it comes to implementing sustainability? Designers don’t not create brands’ ESG goals but they have to put them into practice when they imagine the product, particularly when it comes to materials. “We don’t have the final answer but we are all responsible to ask the questions,” says our guest today, Sophia Amanzi-Oyugah, who is Adidas’s Senior Design Director, for Originals Creative Direction. A beautiful conversation about creativity, opportunity, sustainability and inclusion, and the power of storytelling, with one the Ethical Fashion Initiative’s most exciting partners. This podcast is brought to you by the Ethical Fashion Initiative. Find out more at https://ethicalfashioninitiative.org/ Our music is from the original production From Kabul to Bamako, music directed by Saïd Assadi. This podcast was produced with the financial support of the European Union. Its contents are the sole responsibility of ITC Ethical Fashion Initiative and do not necessarily reflect the views of the European Union.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There is no sustainability without dignified working conditions and respect for human rights, yet fashion’s supply chains are notorious for their failings on this front. This week, Simone and Clare talk with international labour rights expert Auret van Heerden about what can be done. A TED talker, with a background at the ILO, Auret is the man Bill Clinton tasked to lead a team to get to the bottom of child labour issues in the US, and he’s advised everyone from Apple and Nike to the Ethical Fashion Initiative. What’s the first question he asks brands who are serious about ESG? Find out in this information-rich, emotional discussion about what really matters – people. This podcast is brought to you by the Ethical Fashion Initiative. Find out more at https://ethicalfashioninitiative.org/ Our music is from the original production From Kabul to Bamako, music directed by Saïd Assadi. This podcast was produced with the financial support of the European Union. Its contents are the sole responsibility of ITC Ethical Fashion Initiative and do not necessarily reflect the views of the European Union.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Fashion is Italy’s second biggest industry, so it’s got the opportunity, and the responsibility, to make a big impact. After the Ethical Fashion Initiative collaborated on the Sustainable Fashion Awards at Milan Fashion Week in September, Simone and Clare are delighted to welcome Carlo Capasa, chair of Camera Nationale della Moda Italiana (Italy’s peak fashion body) to the podcast to discuss how the industry is stepping up. How much progress has been made? What are the biggest ESG challenges today? What is the role of cross-industry collaboration? And, will legislation change the game?  This podcast is brought to you by the Ethical Fashion Initiative. Find out more at https://ethicalfashioninitiative.org/ Our music is from the original production From Kabul to Bamako, music directed by Saïd Assadi. This podcast was produced with the financial support of the European Union. Its contents are the sole responsibility of ITC Ethical Fashion Initiative and do not necessarily reflect the views of the European Union.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We are excited to be back for a third series of the Ethical Fashion Podcast, this time addressing ESG and how the fashion industry can be more sustainable. Explore the issues driving the biggest topic in fashion conversation today with your hosts UN officer Simone Cipriani and sustainable fashion journalist Clare Press. Hit Subscribe or Follow in your favourite podcast app to make sure you get all the new episodes. Follow is on Instagram @ethicalfashion   The Ethical Fashion Initiative is a programme of the International Trade Centre,a joint agency of the United Nations and the World Trade Organisation. Our music is from the original production From Kabul to Bamako, music directed by Saïd Assadi. This podcast was produced with the financial support of the European Union. Its contents are the sole responsibility of ITC Ethical Fashion Initiative and do not necessarily reflect the views of the European Union.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Our guest this week is the Lagos-based fashion designer Adebayo Oke-Lawal, founder of Orange Culture. This luxury label has combined fashion with activism since 2011, and is ethically produced in Nigeria.  His work has won him accolades in international fashion circles but it's his approach to movement building and giving back that wins hearts. This is an inspiring conversation about standing up for what you believe in, challenging toxic masculinity and mentoring a new generation emerging African fashion designers. This podcast is brought to you by the Ethical Fashion Initiative. Find out more at https://ethicalfashioninitiative.org/ Our music is from the original production From Kabul to Bamako, music directed by Saïd Assadi. This podcast was produced with the financial support of the European Union. Its contents are the sole responsibility of ITC Ethical Fashion Initiative and do not necessarily reflect the views of the European Union.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week we’re focused on contemporary African art. Your host is the Nigerian writer and journalist Ayodeji Rotinwa, who welcomes the renowned Ethiopian gallerist and self-taught art historian and Mesai Haileleul to be interviewed. Mr. Haileleul opened the first gallery representing Ethiopian artists in Los Angeles in the 1990s and now, with Rakeb Sile, co-runs Addis Fine Art - a leading contemporary gallery specialising in art from the Horn of Africa and its diaspora with venues in London and Addis Ababa. This is a podcast about how the African contemporary art market is booming internationally, and what’s driving that interest. But it’s also about the importance and opportunities of focusing on home. Full of fascinating insights on the everything from the history of the art scene in Addis Ababa, to the challenges of building arts infrastructure when building roads and schools takes priority, ultimately it's a conversation about the business of culture and how to support it.  This podcast is brought to you by the Ethical Fashion Initiative. Find out more at https://ethicalfashioninitiative.org/ Our music is from the original production From Kabul to Bamako, music directed by Saïd Assadi. This podcast was produced with the financial support of the European Union. Its contents are the sole responsibility of ITC Ethical Fashion Initiative and do not necessarily reflect the views of the European Union.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In 2020 Project X, The Opportunities Are Here arrived in Uganda, presented by the Ethical Fashion Initiative and the EU. Surely the EFI’s most fun project to date, this televised talent competition followed a nation-wide call for young creative entrepreneurs in Africa. But there’s also serious agenda - building economic opportunity. The hit TV show’s judges included Joram Muzira Job, Uganda’s top model agent, and in this fabulous interview with your regular podcast hosts Simone Cipriani and Clare Press, Joram shares his career story and advice for the next generation coming through. We talk Kampala’s thriving fashion scene, how to use to social media to get ahead, strategies for winning over investors, and the power of following you dreams. Find out more at https://ethicalfashioninitiative.org/ Our music is from the original production From Kabul to Bamako, music directed by Saïd Assadi. This podcast series was produced with the financial support of the European Union. Its contents are the sole responsibility of ITC Ethical Fashion Initiative and do not necessarily reflect the views of the European Union.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.