“We may think we’re small and
insignif icant, but, if we all think like
that, we won’t bring about change”
arry Somers is describing the
gold Valentino trousers she
found in her local charity shop
in Derbyshire. “Only £10!” she
exclaims delightedly. “You’ve
got to rummage, but you can
get some great finds.” Bargain
hunting is just a small part of what Carry is about: as
co-founder of Fashion Revolution, she’s a globally
inf luential voice campaigning for reform in the
fashion industry. And during Fashion Revolution
Week, this year from 22 to 28 April, she’s emphasising
that we all can help bring this change – and that can
start with something as simple as buying secondhand.DOING THINGS DIFFERENTLY
A s pa r t of her ma ster ’s deg ree in Nat ive A merica n
Studies, Carry was in Ecuador when she saw local
knitters being charged a wildly inf lated price for their
wool. Almost 30 years later, the image of the scales –
“that international symbol of justice” – used to weigh
the wool, remains unforgettable to her. “Realising the
unfairness outraged me,” she says. She’d recently read
the autobiography of Anita Roddick, founder of The
Body Shop, who “with no experience in the beauty
industry, saw what was wrong, and decided to do
something about it.” Carry had the feeling that she
also could do something about it.
That was returning to Ecuador (impressively sailing
across the Atlantic) just before starting her PhD.Ensuring clothes are made with a greater care is a revolution we can all play a part in,
as fashion campaigner Carry Somers tells Frances AmblerDespite her lack of fashion experience, she designed a
knitwear collection to be made by co-operatives: it sold
out within six weeks. When she saw the difference her
orders had made, it was the start of her company
Pachacuti, and the end of her PhD. It wasn’t easy
(think armed robbers and a year living in a van), but as
Pachacuti gained customers, its reputation also grew
for its socially minded approach. In 2009, it became
the world’s first company able to label all its products
‘Certified Fair Trade and Sustainable’. Its pioneering
work in traceability – tracking the straw used in its
hats right back to the plantations – is something the
rest of the industry is still catching up on. To illustrate
Carry’s ambition, Pachacuti means “turning the world
around” in the Andean language Quechua.
Next, Carry decided to take on the £1 billion UK
schoolwear market. Buying her daughter Sienna’s
uniform, Carry was shocked to see the amount of
chemicals used in their production. “Kids running
around in the playground – they’re sweating, their
pores are open, how are they not going to absorb some
of those chemicals into their skin?” she reasoned. So,
with her husband Mark, she established Clean Slate,
selling Fairtrade-certified school uniforms made
using organic cotton. Enthusiastically welcomed by
like-minded parents, it sadly didn’t survive when a
major school-uniform business poached their main
supplier, despite an agreement in place, hitting both
trust and finances. “At least it raised awareness,” says
Ca r r y, prag mat ica lly. “Obv iously, it ’s much bet ter if32