Fashion World Tokyo 2016

What a great year its been.

As we get ready to close for our annual leave, I can reflect on what a full year this has been. Besides signing on our new space, that sees our  factory now close on 500sm, we also got to attend some great trade fairs, including Ambiente, SARCDA, Giftex, Fashion World Tokyo and Trade and Impact

One of the highlights of this year has been meeting the daughter of the late Walter Sisulu- Beryl Rose Sisulu and presenting her with our signature clutch. This was on one of our 2 trips to Japan, where our ostrich feather and ostrich shin bags were very well received. So many people have also never seen a springbok bag, and every interaction was accompanied by a long aaaaah, a very Japanese way of showing appreciation!

Close to our heart is FAIR TRADE, and we are now provisional members! The Trade and Impact Summit in Morocco came at a perfect time as we position Rarity as a social enterprise , and further aligned our practice and philosophy with the 10 guiding principles of Fair Trade.

Trade and Impact hosted its inaugural event in Ifrane- Morocco.Trade and Impact presented a unique platform ,with a summit and trade fair combined, this is a ingenuous event that links social entrepreneurs with Social buyers.As the  global movement towards understanding where and how goods are made grows, this kind of platform becomes essential in offering a new and focused way of encouraging responsible manufacture and buying.

It was also my privilege to participate in my first international panel, alongside knighted designed Hisham Lalou, and designer extraordinaire Becky for Sidai designs. An audience from over 26 countries and 4 continents was both exhilarating and intimidating!

Our thank goes to the DTI for their continued support of our efforts to break into new markets, and to WESGRO and SAFLEC who have respectively selected us a company that has the potential to grown internationally. The CBI have also effect real change in our business, and their assistance with FAIR TRADE has been invaluable.