I'm so excited that we've partnered with Emma Watson to design and launch this beautiful range for under-25s. There will be loads of Fair Trade fashion shows at schools univerisities all over the country for Fairtrade Fortnight. We'll be launching the shows with one at Bedales School in Hampshire, with our People Tree Promoters, also with People and Planet.

Emma was a lot of fun to work with. We worked with Misato our designer after Emma had finished shooting. We'd start at 6:30 her place or ours, often working until late at night. She's incredibly self-disciplined and knows very much what she likes.

Of course we shot the Youth catalogue in the last of the summer warmth before Emma went off to Boston to University. If you want a copy of the catalogue, go online to order one, it's absolutely gorgeous and will be published on Friday.

Hello from Waseda University in Japan and an amazing People Tree Christmas Party! (People Tree Japan style!)

The Waseda University Cafaire, a students Fair Trade group, invited me along to their Fair Trade Fashion Show with other guests Ai Tominaga, one of Japan’s leading models and a woman who is very active in social and environmental issues – and my friend Yoshiko Ikoma, who has been editor of Vogue, Elle and Marie Claire over the last 20 years! There was a great panel discussion about how young people can support Fair Trade fashion in Japan followed by a fantastic fashion show!

Then it was time to head of to the People Tree, Japan office Christmas Party. As usual it was amazingly well organized… and choreographed. Seven incredible dancers performed routines from Michael Jackson while following this year’s theme of ‘Nature’, samba feathered ladies mingled amongst forest creatures and African animals! OMG the People Tree team know how to deliver!

The Japanese team was celebrating some big events in 2009;

•We launched an e-commerce site following on from our European version
•A new People Tree shop opened in Ginza
•Mayuko, Handicraft Manager and Kazue Takei, Shop Assistant both got married … not to get other!
•And I received an MBE, a testament to how much everyone at People Tree and all those who support us have been driving the Fair Trade agenda.

A VERY HAPPY CHRISTMAS AND AMAZING NEW YEAR TO ALL OUR FRIENDS! X

Please sign this Avaaz petition to join the 11 million-strong call for tough actions: http://www.avaaz.org/en/copenhagen_needs_heroes and ask your friends to sign too.

The British government needs to take a strong line on climate change, adopting targets that strengthen the Kyoto protocol, not undermine it. That's why we joined the demo in London on Saturday December 5th, joined by tens of thousands of others. As I have written in my blogs before, I've witnessed first hand the hunger and hardship brought by climate change on the communities where People Tree works.

The Wave http://www.stopclimatechaos.org is a nationwide campaign to deliver to the government a strong message of support from the public, everyone from schoolchildren to the elderly, and cutting across all social sectors, demanding that the government:

1 Show leadership to help create a fair international deal by 2010 to keep global warming below the 2 degrees C danger threshold to protect people and the planet.

2 Take immediate practical action to deliver substantial, sustained annual emissions reductions, ensuring that the UK meets its fair share of the international effort to keep global warming below 2 degrees C.

3 Provide poor countries with the resources they need to help them adapt to climate change and follow a low carbon development path.

Britain needs to set an example, rather than letting the US drag back. Taking action to meet serious targets would usher in millions of green jobs developing non-coal and green technologies, and a set of values based on a humanistic approach and environmental sustainability.

Of course there's lots to confound this: The cynics who think if big business and financial institutions can't make the same short term profits, there's no alternative – conveniently not noticing that social businesses now make up a third of employers in the UK. And others who think that the public won't change their lifestyles, simply not aware that 12,000,000 throughout Europe have voluntarily downsized their lifestyles for a simpler, more peaceful way of living. Governments need to have faith in their people, and be led by people - not by big business interests stuck in a largely dysfunctional financial and economic system.

What I saw yesterday was a lot of people who want change now. For a generation of environmentalists like myself it's a tremendous leap that young ecologists so clearly understand the relationship between their lifestyles, climate justice, and the poor worldwide – and that is the urgency for change.

After the demo, which ended at the Houses of Parliament, we had a design meeting at People Tree about our next Autumn/Winter Collection. After all, working with the poorest of farmers and artisans in the developing world, and promoting their livelihoods through growing organic cotton and hand production is the best carbon-neutral way to dress.

KTC uses profits from Fair Trade to fund local community projects including a fabulous primary school. The children from this school celebrated the day by taking part in poem, story ad drawing competitions.

Local school children celebrate International Child Rights Day

KTC are responsible for creating much of our fabulous knitwear! From our great hat and glove sets (perfect now the air's turned crisp) to our designer collaboration with Karen Nicol.

Karen Nicol Matilda dress and Flower Embroidered hat and gloves

Andrew, Head of Accounts and I have been friends since we were 13!

Member of the British Empire (or My Bloody Effort… or so they say) but even though I’m not an elite, bureaucrat with assistants running around me, or ‘born to it’ I’m sure it’s down to my bloody team. My family and friends who merge with being the People Tree team, designer friends, non-execs, trustees and the office team – all brilliant at what they do and change makers in their own right.

My first boss Chris Furey and Natty my gal

I asked my first boss, Chris Fury to say a few words and he did. I thought I’d share it with you:

"I think I need to introduce myself to some people here.
I’m a political adviser in the Conservative Party working in the House of Commons so it is fair to say Saf and I have had our discussions over the years!

Our toast is Safia Minney MBE."

Chris was great, we started working together when I was 17. My boss left within a week and he became my part time boss. Before two years I’d a team of six people working for me from every ethnic minority group in London. (At that time magazine publishing was very white and middle class – we soon became known as the rainbow department!)

Chris was a great mentor – real faith in people. He’d motivate us by bringing in crates of peaches – we were paid peanuts…publishing is still the same today. I did two jobs to support my passion for publishing and comms. Chris and I remained friends and he mentored me long after I left Creative Review magazine four years later to start my own Marketing Consultancy. When I started People Tree in Japan we kept in touch and when I wanted to launch People Tree in the UK – Chris rose to it and ran it for me.

People often say you shouldn’t do business with friends – I believe the opposite.

Trust is the key to everything it’s also what makes creative energy flow. So I have been very happy to work with friends and mix work with pleasure. I don’t believe the two should be separate – as long as it’s not nepotistic.

My son Jerome and my brother Reshad (Jerome works in Topshop’s People Tree concession or Brighton shop on occasions – he says he finds Topshop's fashion 'quite scary!’)

Fella and Bora Aksu, my favourite designers and Sarah and Antony who drive People Tree forward.

My best MBE gift were freshly laid by Rowena Young’s chickens that morning. Rowena’s so glamorous but is pulling a silly face here.

Thank you Team People Treee – friends, family (especially my Mum!) and Debs, Jane, the team in London, Tokyo and all the producer partners

Prince Charles is my hero, but I had hoped to get the award from the Queen as she is more my height. You wait with other recipients in a grand hall surrounded by Rembrandts – amazing! Then you’re shown how to curtsy (which I performed less smoothly after chatting with Prince Charles).

Your family is sitting in the audience and the room is full of elegant chamber music, your name is called. “Safia, Mrs Minney for services to Fair Trade and the fashion Industry,” and a very sweet usher whispering gentle encouragements nudges you forward. 3 steps, a curtsy then the Prince pins your brooch on and then he’s yours for nearly a minute - well it felt like for ever.

What did we chat about…

I told Prince Charles how People Tree makes clothes in a sustainable way, hand weaving fabric that is carbon neutral and growing cotton organically. “I would love to send you an organic shirt or two,” I gushed – no stopping me…”I was going to wear an organic gown screen printed with your face and ‘The King of Sustainability’ on it, but even though a friend of your private secretary thought you might be pleased, the People Tree team thought it might upset your Mum.” “Oh no I shouldn’t worry about that,” he said kindly – “well sounds very clever all this carbon neutral stuff. I hope you find your award an encouragement!” He then extended his hand to shake mine – and off I go – having talked just a bit too much. My friend Geetie Singh got one too last week.

Divisional Sergeant Major David Fagg who got a Victoria cross. Who was the only other recipient wearing a red dress – took a shine to me! And a close up of my brooch

What I’d do if I had a re-run? - If I ever get another award I promise to shut up and be talked to.

Me and my family. Husband James, Daughter Natty and Mum Liselotte.

An amazing 23,000 people have already signed up to the campaign but the more people we get on board the stronger message we can send – so join Little Boots, Jo Brand, Gael Garcia Bernal, Ashley Jensen, Betty Jackson, Tony Robsinson, Jo Wood and me and sign up today.

I was in Japan opening a new People Tree concession in Ginza, Tokyo last week. It's on the third floor of MOSAIC department store, so if you happen to be in Tokyo have a look round. We have two other shops; one in Omotesando, and our longest standing store of 12 years in Jiyugaoka close to our office.

We are delighted with how great it looks - the top 5 best sellers in Ginza so far are:
1) Draped coat - grey
2) Karen Nicol, Matilda necklace dress (also available in UK)
3) Basket weave knit coat
4) Madeleine drape jacket (also available in the UK)
5) Loop cardigan - tomato red

It’s getting quite cold in Tokyo so the knits and jackets are proving popular!

Emilie comes from a design background and has been working with our design team at the same time as Topshop and helping run the Brighton Pop-up store too.

"Come and see me in store. I have a head full of information and can tell you lots about our beautiful collection, please come and challenge me with any questions you may have-Hope to see you soon!" Emilie

Here's a run down of Emilie's 5 best sellers and who they are made by:
1. Draped Grecian dress (Black) – Made In India by Assisi Garments
2. Fair isle cardi - Made in Nepal by KTS
3. Freya slouchy dress (Grey) - Made by Assisi
4. Polka dot skirt (Green) - Made in Bangladesh by Folk
5. Lola asymmetric dress (pink) - Made by Assisi

Even though we don’t have the full People Tree range down there – you’ll be able to try things on and it’s good to support more 100% Fair Trade on the High Street. Nice Café near the concession too!

You can follow me and People Tree on twitter - just search for SafiaMinney or People Tree.

I'm so proud of our friend and People Tree Foundation Ambassador Jo Wood's bravery on Strictly Come Dancing! She's doing great! It must take so much courage to put those dancing shoes on and face millions of viewers every week. Don't think I could do it!

Last year Jo and I visited our producers in Bangladesh where she got the opportunity to practice her dancing with the school children at Swallows. They thought she was great and so do we. I'll be voting for Jo again this Saturday and hope you do to! Watch Jo dancing with the school children in this exclusive video.

]]> http://www.peopletree.co.uk/safia/2009/10/strictly_fair_trade_dancing.html http://www.peopletree.co.uk/safia/2009/10/strictly_fair_trade_dancing.html Tue, 20 Oct 2009 08:46:09 +0000

My second passion after human rights is Jazz Funk, so I was thrilled to be asked to come along and support the Helen Bamber Foundation by Stephen Brenninkmeijer, a friend and big supporter of People Tree and social business.

Helen, the founder recounted the desperate stories of people that she treats. The boy whose older teenage brother had brought him to her after he had picked up a booby-trapped walkman that blew off his hands and blinded him and how HBF helped him to find the will to live and help find special schooling and support his brother to look after him.

Left - Stephen Brenninkmeijer starts things off and Right - Emma Thompson and Helen Bamber

Emma Thompson talked about the sauna she passed every day since childhood near her home. It had been a bit of a joke in her family not knowing what went on at the sauna, they’d made jokey ticket presents for each other when they were little to visit the sauna. Then one day she’d been asked by HBF to meet a girl who’d been imprisoned and forced to work there for years. She’d been promised a job as a receptionist and come to London with high expectations only to find herself forced into sexual slavery.

HBF and Emma set about helping the young woman to deal with trauma in the most innovative way. Emma described how they divided the experience the young woman had faced into 7 parts (realisations) and set it up as an exhibition for the public. It was a huge success in educating the public and the young woman became involved as a volunteer and watched peoples reactions to it. “Is the girl alright now?” said the tearful burly bloke on his stepping out of the last part. The young woman was there to give him a big hug and tell him that she was alright - somehow there sympathy became the key to her healing.

Many asylum seekers are victims of this kind of human rights violation. This is Emma Thompson’s story not mine.

Left - Me and my husband James and Right Dennis and his braces "tall duck and handsome"

A lot of money was raised for HBF that night, even though I couldn’t afford to buy artworks for thousands of pounds, I did buy two tickets and danced to JazzXchange and Appleton (love them!) – with my friend Stephen on the drums!

Check out the Helen Bamber Foundation!

Galahad, who founded the ethical shoe company Terra Plana has taken the time to answer a few of my questions. Terra Plana use innovative design and eco-friendly materials in the manufacture of their shoes - have a look at their great Autumn Winter collection.

What are the challenges that the footwear industry presents to the environment?
The footwear industry is one of the most polluting in the world. Leather tanning is infamous for its use of heavy metals and the difficulty in dealing with effluents used in the tanning process. Metal shanks and components abound! New industrial tooling for every style - let alone new moulds as well as high levels of toxicity and oil based products in the plastics, soling materials and glue.

Do you ever wear Fair Trade fashion clothing? If so, why?
Yes – Because Safia makes great stuff!

What are your top 5 favourite People Tree products?
1) Square textured shirt
2) Contrast trim cardi
3) Brown check shirt
4) Gherkin t-shirt
5) Black poplin shirt

If you were to visit our producers in Bangladesh, Kenya, Peru or Nepal, which one would you visit?
Kenya (because we are developing shoe production there through Soul of Africa) but I’d love to go to the other countries as I’ve never been to any of them!

You work very closely with your factories in China. How do you ensure a fair deal for your factory workers? How do you feel about People Tree working with small groups in rural areas using hand skills?
We work with independent auditors and strict codes of conduct. The labour market is now very buoyant in the area – so the biggest problem the factories have is keeping hold of the workers!

I admire the way People Tree work with small groups in rural areas and have experience in the shoe business doing this sort to think through Soul of Africa – The social enterprise we work with to make shoes in Africa and donate all profits back to Aids related community development projects.

The thorough integrity of People Tree’s supply chains is quite remarkable and I continuously admire it.

Enjoy a lovely 20% discount on any purchase made at Terra Plana or in store from October 8 to November 8 2009. Just enter promo code peopletree1009 online or bring a print out of this page to the store!

During my trip to Birisiri I was lucky enough to talk with some of the producers at the project. I met Ms Koruna Rangsa who works in the tailoring department and asked her a few questions about her work and family, the Garo people and climate change.

How long have you been working with this organisation?
6 years – 10 years including working in the embroidery section.

Are you enjoying tailoring?
I like both, tailoring is easier on the eyes.

Do your family live nearby?
I live with my husband, Mum and 3 year old boy.

Mum looks after my son, next year he goes to school. My husband used to work in a grocery store now he does daily labour work. He gets work very irregularly, working only half of the time. He had no work last month, but 10 days work this month.

It is a big pressure knowing that I’m the breadwinner for my family, but I do it for all our sake, especially my son. My husband, has retrained in electrical repairs and completed a driving course to improve his work prospects.

What are your hopes for the future?
I hope my son will become a doctor, because in the rural communities we don’t have enough doctors. One year ago my aunt died because she was treated by an unqualified doctor.

What is the biggest problem that the Garo people face in Bangladesh?
We are discriminated against, for example if we go for a post as a teacher we will be over looked. I applied but was refused, even though I completed my secondary education with good grades.

Land issues are also a problem with people moving to the ingenuous people’s areas.

What do you know about climate change and global warming?
We cultivate land but have lost it to floods, it turned from fertile land to sand.

The weather is changing and this affects us. The seasons are changing too, natural rain doesn’t come and it makes cultivation of rice late. In the end we get less rice despite all the hard work. We used to get 10 kilos from 1 field. Today we get 6-7 kilos per field.

I need handicraft work to cover my family needs. I cannot get enough rice from the field.

Who’s responsible for climate change and global warming?
It is all of our fault, in Dhaka city we have a lot of cars and factories this is creating global warming and climate change. I feel upset about this.

What do you think we should do to protect the climate and food security?
We can plant more trees and industries that create pollution should be more careful about wastage as it pollutes our rivers. I’m shocked to see the industrial wastes and environmental degradation – it doesn’t make sense.

I would like to ask people not to sit idly but to work all month - we need to work to fulfil our needs.

We reach Birisiri after a 5 hour drive from Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh. In these highlands live the Garo people who originally came from Western China, through Tibet to hold a kingdom here with the partition with India in 1948. Then they started to lose their land rights and felt the full brunt of economic and cultural discrimination.

People Tree started working with Folk Bangladesh nearly 10 years ago – a fair trade group dedicated to working with tribal and indigenous people to help support them and provide markets for their traditional textiles.

Photos of us arriving at Birisiri Folk project and being greeted by village leaders and members of the group.

The women greeted us. There were many formal speeches to celebrate the opening of a new building that is the proud home to 10 sewing machines and an embroidery section that the local NGO and Folk Bangladesh have worked tirelessly to build.

Women have incredible embroidery skills (mostly used on embroidered greeting cards) but want to improve their earnings by turning their embroideries into finished products. Tailoring helps them do that and improve their earnings. Tailors from their unit in Dhaka have been visiting to train the women and left over handwoven fabrics are being made into bags to help to improve their sewing skills, turning waste fabric into something useful and helping the women earn more.

Bottom right: Bora Aksu designed a top and tunic to help give work to this group

70 women work in embroidery and were extremely proud to see their work modelled in the People Tree catalogue. Many women are the sole bread winners, earn more than their husbands or finance their studies at university with their earnings. Folk Bangladesh has run health and eye camps to help arrange operations for cataracts. The aim is to help support this very rural community that finds it increasingly difficult to survive as erratic rain fall has reduced this harvest by 20-40% leaving them nothing to sell after feeding themselves and little cash income.

The team brainstormed and came up with some easy experimental styles to sew at this group. The group are so enthusiastic and they’ll be support given to help them graduate from making bags to simple skirts!

There’s nothing like a walk through the rice fields in rural Bangladesh before breakfast. Masako from People Tree Japan and I love the village so getting up early is easy. By a strange and mysterious fate my old friend Sir Mukla Rahouan was there too and joined us and the Folk Bangladesh team for a walk and yummy dahl and roti breakfast at their family home. Then back to Dhaka where a surprise was waiting for me, more about that soon.

Down time in Birisiri