Tomorrow marks 2 years since the referendum. Are we now seeing a movement on May’s initial defiant stance on Britain’s withdrawal from the single market?

Tamara Cincik, CEO and Founder of Fashion Roundtable said: “I have worked in the fashion industry for most of my adult life. It can be amazing, creative and you can be around the more brilliant and lovely people. However reading this article, by Amy Odell for The Cut: books being thrown at assistants, interns being made to stand outside in the cold with no coat for hours, staff degraded and belittled, it’s just not and never should be acceptable. We have to join the dots and appreciate that however glam, exciting and well-paid the industry can be that doesn’t excuse in work abuse. And never should. That’s why I was happy to Chair the first ever Panel discussion for @fashionassistants and that’s why I am speaking to the film union Bectu; to work on a way to bring workers protections and support into fashion. Watch this space.”

The ‘Crime Against Businesses: Findings from the 2017 Commercial Victimisation Survey’ report published by the Home Office in May this year reflects how wholesale and retail premises consistently experience the highest levels of crime compared with other surveyed sectors.

“The truth of emotions is that they are all fleeting, the good and the bad come and go. Of course, trapped in that moment we may be unable to see that for ourselves. Generating a discussion about mental health is the most effective way to help sufferers manage their problems. We need education and support systems in place, talking openly about mental health is the best way to ensure that we know how to help ourselves, and our friends and family, when we are up against the tide of emotions that feel so overwhelming we don’t want to continue living.”

“This information highlights the problems with the UK government`s customs options. It shows that currently the UK is struggling to maintain an effective border control with this fairly simple border arrangement that we have today. The UK border ideas include a highly technological alternative which does not exist today and an option for Northern Ireland border control to distinguish and apply different procedures for goods arriving to the UK from those that arrive and go through to the EU.  As we can see there are problems today with a high amount of fraudulent clothing and footwear entering through the UK border, these undervalued goods are not stopped and checked, meaning we don`t know if they are genuine Chinese brands that are dumped on the market below market value or counterfeits. More people and a more effective procedure is needed today on the borders to screen containers.  The threat of continuous duping of Chinese goods particularly textile and footwear is very real.”

Jennifer Rosenbaum, US director of Global Labour Justice, said: "We must understand gender-based violence as an outcome of the global supply chain structure. H&M and Gap's fast fashion supply chain model creates unreasonable production targets and underbid contracts, resulting in women working unpaid overtime and working very fast under extreme pressure."

“The mention of a mobility framework is a great success for Fashion Roundtable, as it echoes our requests for a common EU level work visa that the industry`s freelancer could utilise. We are very happy to see it as an ask and will work towards making this a reality.”

Tamara Cincik CEO and Founder of Fashion Roundtable: "Real luxury for me means knowing that who made my clothes did so with dignity, fair wages and in safe conditions. It's no longer enough to have the best fabrics and the most original designs. For fashion to stay relevant as the consumer demand for sustainability grows, we need to see all brands and that means at the designer end as well as on the high street, whether they are a huge international or start up SME, make supply chain decisions which have this at the heart of their business strategy."

"Why is the UK Government discussing options that a) will be rejected by the EU b) will not be possible to implement in the given time period?”

Bev Malik: “India is in many senses the home of fashion and textiles and I was thrilled to support the emerging talents and interact with the industry here on behalf of Fashion Roundtable which seeks to support and connect global talent through its conversation and projects”.

“The fashion industry is the diamond of the British culture, you can’t come for anyone from the British fashion industry. The Government needs to start recognising that fashion is one of the best industries for the country… we’re talking about the little people, because it’s all the little people who are going to restaurants, buying the clothes, paying the mortgages…”

Anna Fitzpatrick is the Sustainability Expert at Fashion Roundtable, has created this survey: click here on Sustainability and Geopolitics, in advance of our event on the same topic on 23/05. Anna was the secretariat for for the All Party Parliamentary Group for Sustainable Fashion and works at the Centre for Sustainable Fashion.

" Blurred line between appropriation and appreciation. It’s a conversation being had by a lot of people."

 

Huishan Zhang saw his label as a point of change: away from mass market towards a luxury vision of Made In China. What began with him and his aunt, has grown into a UK studio and Chinese atelier where he has over 40 staff creating sustainable fashion in China, supportive of the local community and employees and the recent opening of his flagship store in Mount Street, Mayfair.