The Fair Fashion Festival, created by Threading Change, is a dynamic event designed to entertain, inspire, and educate. Each festival focuses on various aspects of sustainable fashion, featuring a mix of engaging activities. Participants can enjoy a clothing swap, attend panels with industry experts, and join hands-on workshops like EPR writing and mending. Each Fair Fashion Festival is unique, offering different components tailored to the host city.
Want us in your city? Let us know by leaving a comment on our Instagram @threadingchange.
SUMMER FFF
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SUMMER FFF ⋆
Fair Fashion Festival Nairobi
Thank you to our collaborators who helped us make this event a huge success: The Swap Circle, 25SWAP, AfroWema, Delight Fashion School, Sisters in Climate, ReFace, and Duara Textiles.
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The clothing swap was led by 25SWAP and The Swap Circle. Participants brough up to 8 pre-loved clothing items to swap.
A mending workshop was hosted by Afrowema and Delight Fashion School.
The Museum of ChangeMakers presented leaders in local sustainable fashion organizations, brands, advocacy groups, and designers!
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In the first panel “The Art of Batik” by Sisters in Climate & Duara Textiles, participants were able to:
Engage in discussions on Batki’s rich history, unique process, and cultural significance.
Attend an interactive session that showcased captivating designs and explored the stories of heritage and community embedded in Batik.
Examine the sustainability of Batik and how to maintain this evolving art form ethically while ensuring its continuity.
In the second panel, “Harnessing Kenya’s Competitive Edge in the GlobalFashion Industry”, Regenerative Fashion Collaborative (ReFace), participants were able to:
Explore Kenya’s fashion industry potential and unique advantages, identity challenges, and gain strategic insights for global positioning.
Be equipped with actionable steps to enhance growth, visibility, and competitiveness.
Fair Fashion Festival Toronto
In collaboration with Oxfam
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Threading Change & Oxfam Canada are proud to host the inaugural Fair Fashion Festival in Toronto - an epic interdisciplinary affair where you will meet industry leaders and experts in the sustainable fashion space and learn about the industry's social and environmental hidden costs affecting both people and planet. The afternoon will be packed with educational workshops, interactive activities, engaging panels, and community building events while the evening will be a bustling networking party with DJ Lychee and DJ Kaleido.
You can expect to leave the event feeling empowered to lead sustainable fashion lifestyles, and be clothing changemakers. The different components will raise awareness on the social, environmental, and political dimensions of the fashion industry, immersing you into all three levels of Threading Change's tri-impact model: education, innovation, and consultation and Oxfam Canada’s What She Makes Campaign calling for Canadian Fashion brands to pay a living wage to the women that make our clothes.
Join Threading Change and Oxfam in this free, eye opening experience, as we unravel the hidden costs of the fashion industry. Immerse yourself in our clothing Swap + Clothing Audit series, Stitch for Change challenge, learn how to mend your clothes, engage with our panel discussion, connect with our museum of Changemakers, learn with our workshops, and debrief with our networking afterparty!
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Clothing Swap + Clothing Audit
Participate in a sustainable fashion initiative by swapping clothes and gaining insights into conscious consumption through a clothing audit. Attendees are asked to:
Bring 1-10 items each to swap. You will be given a ticket for every item you bring in. However many items you bring, that's how many you can take. Please note: No socks, swimsuits, and underwear at the swap. Jewellery can be swapped if it has been cleaned.
Swimsuits and bras can be swapped if they have never been worn, ideally with the tag still attached.The clothing swap will be throughout the entire event from 1-6pm.
Stitch for Change Challenge.
Join us for the Stitch for Change Challenge at the Fair Fashion Festival! This unique one-minute sewing challenge invites consumers like you and me to experience the stark contrast between the lives and compensation of Cambodian garment workers and fashion brand CEOs. Within just 60 seconds, participants will be tasked with sewing 10 t-shirt hems, mirroring the intense workload that the women who make our clothes endure daily for poverty wages.
This thought-provoking activity aims to engage and encourage participants to reflect on the realities faced by garment workers and to rally for greater transparency and fair wages throughout the fashion industry's supply chain. Stay tuned to find out which brand the
What She Makes campaign will be targeting next. Join us and stitch for change!
Museum of Changemakers:
Explore leading organizations, brands, advocacy groups, fashion designers, activists and not-for-profit organizations involved in promoting a fossil-fuel free and human centered fashion future! Engage with booths to learn about the different social and environmental dimensions of the industry and how their impactful work addresses these challenges
Vendors:
Explore booths from various sustainable community organizations and vendors selling their products committed to sustainability, human rights and circular economy practices.
Mending Workshop:
Attend a hands-on workshop to learn essential mending skills, promoting the longevity of your garments and reducing textile waste. Learn to customize the clothes that you pick up at the swap and stitch your initials.
Threading Change Community Quilt:
Join us for a relaxing, all-day experience where you can immerse yourself in the world of slow fashion. Escape the noise and unwind as you express your thoughts on a piece of scrap fabric, then sew it onto our ongoing collective Solutions Quilt.
In-Person Panels:
The two 30-minute panels will be hosted by Threading Change and Oxfam Canada
Engage in thought-provoking discussions on garment worker rights and the importance of transparent supply chains in a panel with Oxfam, and unravel the political and environmental dimensions of the fashion industry with Threading Change
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Write for Rights Workshop: Penning Change hosted by Oxfam
As part of the What Se Makes Campaign, join us at the Fair Fashion Festival for the Write for Rights Workshop: Penning Change, led by our dedicated ally (to be announced). This engaging session will highlight the importance and power of letter writing as a potent tool of activism. Learn about the logistics of impactful letter writing and why your words matter. Participants will be prompted to put pen to paper, creating letters of solidarity and action to support a special target to be announced closer to the festival date. Come and discover how a simple letter can spark significant change and join us in a collective act of advocacy.
Textile Transformation with Threading Change: Shaping Textile Waste Solutions with ECCC
Join us for an impactful 10-minute sprint workshop, as we delve into Environment Climate Change Canada’s (ECCC) recent consultation document addressing the deficiencies in textile and apparel waste recycling systems in Canada. Together, we will explore the gaps in current fashion and textile frameworks and brainstorm meaningful insights and suggestions on ECCC’s proposed solutions. This workshop aims to pave the way for the government to implement tangible and effective measures. We will engage with participants to consult and provide feedback to the key elements within the proposed framework for addressing the waste from the textile and apparel industry.
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Oxfam Canada is an affiliate of the international Oxfam Confederation networked in 87 countries as part of a global movement for change.
Our mission is to build lasting solutions to poverty and injustice, focusing on improving lives and promoting the rights of women and girls.
We work directly with communities, partners and women's rights organizations to challenge the systems perpetuating inequality and keeping people poor.
Our flagship, What She Makes campaign, advocates for Canadian fashion brands to pay a living wage to the women that make our clothes
Together we seek to influence those in power to ensure that women trapped in poverty have a say in the critical decisions that affect them, their families and entire communities.
Because ending global poverty begins with women's rights.
Fair Fashion Festival Halifax
In collaboration with The Great Halifax Swap
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Threading Change is proud to host our inaugural Fair Fashion Festival in Halifax in collaboration with The Great Halifax Clothing Swap - an epic interdisciplinary event where you will meet industry leaders and experts in the sustainable fashion space, learn about the industry's social and environmental hidden costs, and swap your gently-used clothing, shoes, and accessories for new-to-you gems!
You can expect to leave the event feeling empowered to integrate sustainable fashion into your lifestyle, and be clothing changemakers. The different educational components will raise awareness of the social, environmental, and political dimensions of the fashion industry, immersing you in all three levels of Threading Change's tri-impact model: education, innovation, and consultation.
What’s more, you’ll also get to swap your pre-loved clothes for new treasures at Halifax’s most trusted clothing swap hosted by the Great Halifax Clothing Swap!
Join Threading Change and The Great Halifax Clothing Swap in this experience that will take you beyond thrifting, as we unravel the hidden costs of the fashion industry. Immerse yourself in our clothing swap, learn how to mend your clothes, engage with our panel discussion, connect with our Museum of Changemakers, learn at our workshops, and make new connections!
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Participate in a sustainable fashion initiative by swapping clothes instead of buying new ones. Attendees bring gently-used clothing shoes and accessories to donate, and can then take as many clothing items as they would like. The cost to enter the swap is $15 with a clothing donation, $25 without. For more information on how the swap works, check out the website, greatswap.ca, or follow @clothingreincarnated on Facebook and Instagram.
Given the limited number of parking spots, you may drop off your clothes near the entrance of the venue using ourClothing Valet Service
We can pick up your clothes and take them to the swap for you. In exchange, we will give you a token that you can present upon arrival. There will be dollies and carts that you may borrow at the end of the event to take your new wardrobes to your car (if you are driving).
Multiple entries will be permitted.
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Museum of Changemakers:
Explore leading organizations, brands, advocacy groups, fashion designers, and not-for-profit organizations involved in promoting a fossil-fuel-free fashion future! Engage with booths to learn about the different social and environmental dimensions of the industry and how their impactful work addresses these challenges.
Vendors:
Explore booths from various community organizations and vendors selling their products committed to sustainability and circular economy practices.
Mending Workshop:
Attend a hands-on workshop to learn essential mending skills, promoting the longevity of your garments and reducing textile waste.
In-Person Panels:
Engage in thought-provoking discussions on garment worker rights, production processes, microplastic contamination, policy gaps, and the environmental damage caused by the fashion industry in Threading Change’s 1-hour panels with industry leaders.
EPR Policy Workshop:
Dive deeper into the concept of Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) in the fashion industry. Learn about promoting garment workers' rights, and fair wages, reducing textile waste, and enhancing producer accountability and transparency within the supply chain as we write letters to our municipality. We have designed the workshop to be 15-minute sprints where education, consultation, and impact can converge!
Threading Change Community Quilt:
Join us for a relaxing, all-day experience where you can immerse yourself in the world of slow fashion. Escape the noise and unwind as you express your thoughts on a piece of scrap fabric, then sew it onto our ongoing collective Solutions Quilt.
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The Fair Fashion Festival will be hosted in Halifax’s beautiful south end and within walking distance of downtown at the Dalhousie Student Union Building. The space is accessible (elevator available), has access to gender-neutral washrooms, and is very easy to get to via public transit (the Dalhousie Student Union Building is a bus stop for many of the major bus routes).
The Clothing Swap will be hosted at The McInnes Room, located on LEVEL 2 of the Student Union Building.
The Panel discussions, Exhibitors, Vendors, Mending Station, and Threading Change's Quilt Making Activity will be located right opposite the McInnes Room, in The Council Chambers! You won't miss it.
There is on-street parking around the building and payment is not required on the weekend. There are also Dalhousie permit parking lots around the building that are free to use by the general public on the weekend. Check out the Parking Lot Map attached to identify nearby parking!
PREVIOUS FFFs
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PREVIOUS FFFs ⋆
From April 24th to April 28th, 2024, Threading Change hosted a series of global in-person and online events in honor of Fashion Revolution Week. We are so grateful to all of our partners and volunteers that made FFF ‘24 so successful!
1000+ attendees total!
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Empowering Change Webinar
Our first event held on April 24th was a webinar on “Empowering Change: Sustainable Practices and workers Rights in Asia’s Fashion Industry” in collaboration with Fashion Revolution India and FairTrade Indoa.
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Youth in Fashion: Career Café
On April 6th, in Nairobi, Kenya, we created a space to bridg the gap between sustainability and fashion in the local industry to inspire young people to discover what we can collectiely do to build a circular fashion system.
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Fair Fashion Festival: Vancouver
On April 27th, we hosted our biggest event ever, selling out all available tickets! We gathered to learn about ethical fashion through EPR writing workshops, a collaborative panel with CEP, mending workshops, and of course, a clothing swap.
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IG Live: Policy Conversation
We delved into the connections between fashion and policy, seizing te chance to collaboate and acquired insights into how young people can actively participate in shaping legislative framework.
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Clothing Swap: Indian Summer Soirée
Our first swap in Bengaluru was a complete success. In collaboration with Fashion Revolution India.
CITY EDITION
Vancouver
Nairobi
Fair Fashion Festival
Event Components
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Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) is a pivotal concept in modern environmental policy, emphasizing the accountability of producers for the entire lifecycle of their products. It's a framework that aims to internalize the environmental costs associated with the production and disposal of goods, shifting the responsibility from consumers and governments back to the manufacturers.
Attendees explored various facets of EPR, such as regulatory frameworks, financial mechanisms, and stakeholder engagement strategies, with the goal of enhancing sustainability practices and fostering innovation within industries. So, envision this workshop as a melting pot of ideas and expertise, where participants come together to exchange insights, tackle challenges, and drive positive change in the realm of product stewardship and environmental conservation.
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A mending workshop embodies the essence of sustainability and craftsmanship, offering participants a haven for reviving cherished garments and learning invaluable skills.
Here, attendees brought in their well-loved but worn items of clothing, whether it was a frayed sweater or a beloved pair of jeans, seeking to breathe new life into them rather than discarding them. Led by experienced menders, the workshop unfolded as a blend of hands-on demonstrations, personalized guidance, and shared knowledge.
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The clothing swap event pulsed with anticipation and the thrill of discovery, offering a vibrant space for fashion enthusiasts to exchange garments and breathe new life into their wardrobes.
Attendees had arrived laden with gently-worn treasures, ready to part with pieces that no longer sparked joy in exchange for newfound gems. Led by the spirit of sustainability and community, the swap had unfolded as a lively exchange of stories and styles, where strangers had become comrades bound by their love for fashion with a conscience.
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coming soon
Youth in Fashion: Career Café
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Our Youth in Fashion Career Cafe aims to bridge the gap between sustainability and fashion in the local industry, to inspire more young people to seek the existing opportunities, and discover what we can collectively do, through different pathways to contribute to building a circular fashion system.
The Cafe is dedicated to mentoring and showcasing areas of intersection between fashion and other industries, for young people to be inspired to dive into creating innovative solutions to the persisting social and environmental challenges through inspiring, educating and empowering youth to pursue fulfilling careers in sustainable fashion.
The cafés have two parts: insights from organizations, individuals and brands through a 2 hour presentation, where you have an opportunity to engage them in a Q & A. We then wrap up the day with a networking and mentoring session.
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Our incredible speakers are leaders and changemakers thst delve into what they do and the opportunities for exploration that exist. This event is dedicated to resource and knowledge sharing - inspiring young people to value people and the planet.
Thank you to our funders who made this all possible!