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The Fairtrade Foundation has teamed up with the Ethical Fashion Forum to launch its major sustainable design competition, INNOVATION Award.

For the first time, the competition will run a Fairtrade cotton category sponsored by Tesco, which will be judged by fashion model Laura Bailey. The award will recognize designers and brands which are either already working with Fairtrade certified cotton or are looking to use Fairtrade cotton in their collections going forward.

Applications should demonstrate an understanding of the principles behind Fairtrade and have a plan in place to increase the amount of cotton in their range. The winning designer or brand will be offered support from the Fairtade Foundation to become a Fairtrade licensee, allowing them to apply the FAIRTRADE Mark to their designs.

The winner of the award will be offered advice and assistance from Clothing at Tesco’s  UK  F&F team to develop a capsule collection made from Fairtade cotton. Selected pieces from the range will be sold through Tesco’s new online fashion store  www.tesco.com/clothing.   Overall  competition winners  will showcase their designs at the premiere London fashion trade show, ESTETHICA in London.

The Fairtrade element to the competition helps mark the Fifth Anniversary of Fairtrade cotton, a campaign which aims to re-position Fairtrade cotton at the cutting edge of aspirational design and fashion. Laura Bailey said: ‘The cotton growers urgently need the future of fashion to be Fairtrade, so this is a fantastic opportunity for the future talent in British fashion to use Fairtrade cotton to produce some innovative designs.’

Applications for the INNOVATION competition will open on Wednesday 12 May 2010, ahead of Graduate Fashion Week (6-10 June),  and will close on Sunday 6 June  2010. Application forms can be downloaded from www.ethicalfashionforum.com.

Designers and businesses are chosen on the basis of outstanding design and product standards, as well as innovation in relation to Fairtrade, social and environmental sustainability.

The overall judging panel include Vogue.com’s Dolly Jones, Laura Bailey, the Ethical Fashion Forum’s Josie Nicholson, Fairtrade Foundation’s Victoria Waugh and a Clothing at Tesco  fashion expert.

INNOVATION was set up by the Ethical Fashion Forum (www.ethicalfashion forum.com) to showcase and create marketing opportunities for emerging designers and businesses in the ethical fashion arena.

Last year’s winners were Henrietta Ludgate, Lalesso, MIA and Mark Liu, whose designs included high quality finishing and modern cutting edge design using traditional techniques to create a commercial look.

Tamsin Lejeune, Director and Founder of The Ethical Fashion Forum says: ‘INNOVATION is a great way for fashion designers to get their work recognized whilst putting sustainable fashion at the heart of their business.’

– ENDS –

Eileen Maybin
Head of Media Relations
020 7440 7686/07770 957 451
eileen.maybin@fairtrade.org.uk

Martine Julseth
Media and PR Manager
020 7440 7695/07825 827 791
martine.julseth@fairtrade.org.uk

Faith Mall
Media and PR Manager
020 7440 8597/07766 504 947
faith.mall@fairtrade.org.uk
   
Neil Martin
Assistant Press Officer
020 7440 7620
neil.martin@fairtrade.org.uk

Notes to Editors

1.  Fairtrade cotton is cotton which has met the international Fairtrade standard for production of seed cotton  and is therefore eligible to carry the FAIRTRADE Mark. The Mark is an independent product certification label which guarantees that cotton farmers are getting a better deal - receiving a fair and stable Fairtrade price and Fairtrade premium, receiving pre-financing where requested and benefiting from longer-term, more direct trading relationships. The Fairtrade minimum price is set at the farm gate level and is based on actual costs of sustainable production. If the local market price is higher than this minimum price, then the market price applies. An additional payment of a Fairtrade premium is set aside for farmers’ organisations to spend on social and environmental projects or to strengthen their businesses.  This ensures that communities have the power and resources to invest in long-term improvements. Elected farmer committees decide democratically how these premiums are spent.

1. The FAIRTRADE Mark is a certification mark and a registered trademark of Fairtrade Labelling Organisations International (FLO) of which the Fairtrade Foundation is the UK member. The Fairtrade Foundation is an independent certification body which licenses the use of the FAIRTRADE Mark on products which meet international Fairtrade standards. This independent consumer label is now recognised by 72% of UK consumers and appears on products as a guarantee that disadvantaged producers are getting a better deal. Today, more than 7.5 million people – farmers, workers and their families – across 58 developing countries benefit from the international Fairtrade system.

2. Over 4,500 products have been licensed to carry the FAIRTRADE Mark including coffee, tea, herbal teas, chocolate, cocoa, sugar, bananas, grapes, pineapples, mangoes, avocados, apples, pears, plums, grapefruit, lemons, oranges, satsumas, clementines, mandarins, lychees, coconuts, dried fruit, juices, smoothies, biscuits, cakes & snacks, honey, jams & preserves, chutney & sauces, rice, quinoa, herbs &  spices, seeds, nuts & nut oil, wines, beers, rum, confectionary, muesli, cereal bars, yoghurt, ice-cream, flowers, sports balls, sugar body scrub and cotton products including clothing, homeware, cloth toys, cotton wool and olive oil.

3. 7 in 10 households purchase  Fairtrade goods,, helping Fairtrade sales reach an estimated £800m in 2009,  up from £712m  in 2008. There are over 460 producer organisations selling to the UK with 872 certified producer groups in the global Fairtrade system, representing more than 1.5 million farmers and workers.

4. The Ethical Fashion Forum (EFF) is a network of individuals, businesses and organizations focusing on social and environmental sustainability in the fashion industry. The EFF works to reduce poverty create sustainable livelihoods  for garment workers and reduce the impact of the industry on the environment.