stry evolves into a more positive reflection of and a catalyst for social change through greater transparency, redistribution of power, resources, and respect, and through inclusive collaboration. I am applying for this challenge as a response for the need to create greater visibility and accountability of the complex supply chains and the people working within these outdated structures, and to encourage autonomy and empowerment to all voices along the value chain. The overall goal of my challenge response is to encourage long-term policy change for a more responsible and ethical fashion industry.

• I have been working in the fashion industry for 7 years as a footwear and accessories designer and developer. I have a deep understanding from different perspectives and relations with fashion and materials, and can see and feel the complexities of the system from different angles. I am interested in disentangling the complexities of the sector to make a simpler and more inclusive and intersectional future for all direct and indirect users of fashion. Currently I am studying an MA in Regenerative Design to better understand how to incorporate people, planet, and design more seamlessly within the fashion industry.

• Sustainability to me equates to longevity and must be dynamic and ever evolving. There is power in the way we choose to express our identities through fashion, and I believe we can continuously encourage empowerment and expression in how we dress, without disempowering or othering different parts of society that we are not part of. We must actively and constantly adapt and listen, learn, and do better, and to me, this is sustainability.

• This award would be a great opportunity for me to gain knowledge and feedback through mentorship. The value of industry mentorship from the beginning of my ideation phase would give my proposal the most informed chance from the start so that it has the best possibility of creating positive and inclusive impact from more diverse perspectives and experience.

I am currently studying MA Regenerative Design at Central St. Martins. It is a part-time online course that merges the trifecta disciplines of ecology, anthropology, and design.
I have not been nominated to apply.

TRANSPARENSEE

TRANSPARENSEE is a public digital platform and app to improve transparency, traceability, and responsibility within the fashion industry in one streamlined destination. The platform will show brands, factories, mills and all other co-creators along the fashion value chain and will map the global supply chains of all fashion businesses through a unified platform. Each business will have an icon on the map that features its partners, will have visible any certifications and audits, company overview and stats, and will have a public but anonymous rating system for employees to rate their worker satisfaction and communicate issues and complaints safely.

Fashion supply chains are complex, entangled and integrated, yet also individualised. Using technology as a tool to map T1-T5 global supply chains in one unified place will give transparency and traceability to stakeholders who make, design, trade, or consume fashion, and will publicly hold businesses accountable. Gathering and mapping T1-T5 information is time, money, and resource intensive. The work can be unfeasible or unappealing for some brands and consequently halts global united progress. This platform opens the space for collaboration and information sharing and will encourage companies to participate by simplifying and reducing the workload through visibility and cooperation. Partners on TRANSPARENSEE will have certifications and audits visible to highlight and promote positive ambitions and can put the TRANSPARENSEE logo on their own platforms, like a B-Corp or C2C badge privilege. The aim is to stimulate positive change in a public space and can be used by anyone with a digital device with internet.

The platform intends to evidence greenwashing and eradicate it through stakeholder pressure (and potential consequential lobbying). Businesses not on the platform or on it without relevant /any certifications will raise questions for stakeholders, and subsequently add external pressure to perform better. The onus is on consumers to research individual brands to become conscious consumers, but this responsibility should be on industry professionals and within government. Laws such as AGEC in France encourage and support traceability for consumers, but there are limitations with disposable QR codes and lack of permanent public information in a unified place, and TRANSPARENSEE will tackle these hurdles. Technology can be used as a positive resource for good by giving power to society by reducing the time and work to be an ethical fashion consumer.

Another angle of the platform will be for businesses to have the place to highlight what products or services they offer. This can assist brands to streamline their sourcing and production to find appropriate suppliers and make smarter decisions. Finding the right suppliers matched to brands’ needs will reduce unnecessary waste and will help move away from the current system of over-ordering to meet sampling and production minimums. This can also help brands work more collaboratively when given the visibility to see other companies working with the same partners, and can stimulate better collective bargaining and living wage agreements. There is power in collaboration, and this will give power to all sides of business to work cooperatively to improve working conditions and resource efficiency.

To benefit the societal value chain, TRANSPARENSEE will have an annual employee satisfaction survey for all partners on the platform. This survey will be anonymous and voluntary and will accumulate an overall score of the business to be displayed on the platform to show users the happiness levels within companies. This will encourage companies to improve their yearly score to better support their workers’ happiness levels. As an additional service, there will be a 3rd party helpline to email or call anonymously to give a safe space for workers to voice feelings or concerns externally.

The main goal of TRANSPARENSEE is to encourage a global policy shift to have all brands, partners, and co-creators on the platform and to have traceability mandatory. Fashion and its societal and environmental ramifications effect every person and species on this planet, and to begin mapping out this global intersection will create monumental change for everyone globally.

I have not been nominated to apply by my institution.

Project stage: Concept stage.