Textile transformation, one sustainable goal at a time
The concept of sustainability is one of the most progressive trends fashion has ever seen. Beyond fashion, sustainable steps are changing the way we interact with the world, and in turn, the way the world interacts with us.
Driven by a growing need for systemic change few sectors have been left untouched. As shifting consumer choices lean toward more conscious purchases, many businesses are being forced to rethink their current ‘business as usual’ practices to serve a buyer with a more conscious eye. A recent Deloitte report highlights that in 2022, consumers became more proactive in adopting a sustainable lifestyle, specifically choosing brands because of their ethical practices or values.
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According to General Manager Jackie Vorster of female-based empowerment accelerator and non-profit organisation Colours of a Kind, the global textile industry is under immense pressure to clean up its environmental act due to its contributing role in the rapid depletion of natural resources such as water, wood and cotton.
“As the textile industry makes strides to reduce its environmental footprint and support the circular economy through recycling initiatives and greener production lines, one must not ignore the important social and economic role that the sector can play, especially in a developing country such as South Africa,” says Vorster.
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For Colours of a Kind, driving systemic social and economic change lies at the heart and soul of its business model. An impact-driven organisation whose primary goal is to uplift and empower women from disadvantaged communities, it contributes directly to five of the seventeen UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including:
- SDG1 (Job Creation)
- SDG4 (Quality Education)
- SDG5 (Gender Equality)
- SDG8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth)
- and SDG10 (Reduced Inequalities) while also touching on many other SDGs indirectly.
Learn while you and the planet grow
Through its SETA accredited Colours of a Kind Accelerator Programme, the organisation offers students a unique, fully sponsored opportunity to complete a one-year General Education and Training Certificate in the Clothing Manufacturing Process at the Fashion Institute of Garment Technology by the Cape Town College of Fashion Design.
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Graduates of the Accelerator Programme are then supported in finding work following their graduation!
As Vorster puts it, those who choose to go into the fashion industry are supported in their job applications, while others may choose to start their own brands or their own business in their community. Once again, Colours of a Kind supports them with mentorship as well as outsourcing sewing jobs for them.
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“We run our social business to source orders that provide work and income to our graduates that participate. In 2023, we will be growing our own production studio, which will be a creative and supportive space for our graduates to intern with us. This will provide them with continuous skills development and earning potential.”
Vorster further shares that all of the women that pass through their doors leave as changed individuals, with sound business skills. “Once you give a woman the opportunity to learn and show her how to operate in a place of business, even if she leaves your employ, she will be able to get a job somewhere else.”
It’s about addressing the whole woman for Colours of a Kind.
“We don’t want to place women in jobs that might stretch them so much that they feel they might break. We have built up a programme to support the women in their education, their self-development and through a support system so that we see effective change and a sustainable career path for them. Our social business, and our studio, have a humanitarian heart— where we are empowering, uplifting, providing employment and building a business that secures internship, income generation and future growth,” says Vorster.
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More on Colours of a Kind here.
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Feature Image: Supplied
