Dr. Ayyaz proudly presents it's brand new colleciton

March 2010
March 2010
March 2010
March 2010

Side Effects has attended the CSF workshop

30 March 2010
From left Dilys Williams, Director of the Centre for Sustainable Fashion, Alex and Jules Hau Director of Foundation Agency.
30 March 2010
Group of 20 designers from London with Dilys and Jules.
30 March 2010
Group of 20 designers from London with Dilys and Jules.

Side Efeects has attended the Ethical Fashion Forum Social at Foundation Agency

25 March 2010
Dr Ayyaz with Jules director of Foundation PR.
25 March 2010
Dr Ayyaz at EFF Social.
25 March 2010
Speaker from Recycled Jewlery Group.
25 March 2010
Speaker from Fair Trade Foundation UK.
25 March 2010
Rose Budhani of Foundation PR.
25 March 2010
Group of EFF members attending the event.

Side Effects at Fashion Fusion Expo 2010

March 2010
Model wearing Sideeffects on the eve of Fashion Expo 13th March 2010.
March 2010
Backstage with model and choreographer after the Catwalk.
March 2010
Visitors are excited about first hand experience of block printing 12 &13th of March 2010 at Fashion Fusion Expo.
March 2010
Visitors are excited about first hand experience of block printing 12 &13th of March 2010 at Fashion Fusion Expo.

Ethical Fashion Social 25th Feb 2010

The ethical fashion social organised by EFF was held at Junky Styling in Shoreditch. The social was attended by key ethical fashion promoters discussing the success of London fashion week. The speaker from Junky Styling discussed the trends in ethical fashion, what’s selling and why, what consumers are looking for and are they really interested in the ethics behind what they buy!

Clothes produced by Junky Styling is recycled from the best quality second hand clothing, deconstructed, re-cut and completely transformed into a new product that belies the former identity of the raw material.

Side Effects team actively participated in the discussion and praised the effort of Junky Styling.

Side effects at Junky styling (Ethical fashion network)

February 2010
KRT discussing the ten years of Junky styling.
February 2010
KRT of Junky styling and Dr Ayyaz.
February 2010
Ethical net work team at Junky Styling, 12 Dray Walk, The Old Truman Brewery, 91 Brick Lane London, E1 6RF.
February 2010
At Junky styling.

Fashion Fusion Expo 12th-13th March 2010 Old Truman Brewery at 91 Brick Lane, London E1 6QL

Fashion Fusion Expo will be home to around 40 of the most sought after brands, with designers showcasing their collections to the public at a discount.

Side Effects will be exhibiting its first women's accessories collection at Fashion Fusion Expo 2010. There will be a fashion show showcasing the spring/summer collection of Side Effects. Live block printing on silk scarves will be shown, visitors will be allowed to have a first-hand experience in block printing.

Ethical Fashion Social January 2010

Side Effects attended Ethical Fashion social which took place at the lovely Saf Restaurant, Shoreditch. It was attended by a Corporate Responsibility Manager of a top high street fashion brand, a DEFRA Policy Advisor, a Senior Research Fellow from a top fashion university, ethical and sustainable fashion designers working in Colombia, Equador, India, and England, a ethical jeweller, a supplier of Natural Colour Cotton, students, and the EFF Team.

The group shared their issues of working with fairtrade groups:

  • Stigma of Fair Trade – highlighted as a problem that can negatively affect your business.
  • New businesses – problems in evaluating supply & demand, the UK ethical fashion market and pricing.
  • Difficulties in maintaining business efficiency and order deadlines whilst remaining ethical.
  • Large disparities between indigenous pace of life, cultural contexts and expectations and the fast paced fashion industry. Difficult to expand/ maintain quality.
  • Suggestions of contracts and clear expectations were put forward as examples of good practice.
  • Ethnic designs can be difficult to sell – depending on the market – the right designer is crucial to commerciality of the product. Challenging to preserve cultural techniques whilst creating marketable products.
  • The need for support and training – 'handholding' is required that hinders the business and its commerciality
  • Confusion into optimal ethical practice for example local, low carbon sourcing v.s. supporting global networks, indigenous communities and cultures.
  • Highlighted the importance of discussion into the inherently complex concept of ethical fashion.
  • Trust – by working away from your community trust in your team is essential.
  • Quality of sustainable materials and also ensuring that they are actually sustainably produced.
  • Standardisation – criteria of ethical production and materials. - Ensuring traceability and transparency of the supply chain.
  • Government involvement – can be very trying in the developing world and subject to changing taxes, supply, payments and politics.

All attendees were interested in fair-trade development and by sharing problems they were able to discuss methods to remedy their concerns. Claudia Suarez of Artisan Life had particularly good experience with her artisan groups in her native Colombia to share and advise the group. By identifying the key problems discussions naturally flowed on how these can be countered.

Dr Ayyaz from Side Effects team tabled the idea of some sort standardisation of ethical production and materials. He suggested there should be some kind of certification ensuring traceability and transparency of the supply chain.