Profession / role:

Founder & MD

Company / organisation:

Pachacuti

Website (if you have one):

http://www.panamas.co.uk

My primary role in relation to fashion is:

Entrepreneur

I am looking to discover or buy

Stockists, speaking/lecturing engagements, assistance with fashion show in Rio May 2013

About me / About business or organisation:

A pioneer in Fair Trade Fashion, I founded Pachacuti in 1992 with the aim of demonstrating that it is possible to create supply chains within the fashion industry which benefit the producers, their culture, community and environment. Pachacuti is founded on a passion for improving the lives of our Andean producers and their communities.

Pachacuti is the world's 1st Certified Fair Trade organisation by the World Fair Trade Organisation and over the past 3 years we have been the only non-commodity pilot for the EU Geo Fair Trade Project. In 2013 we will be piloting the new WFTO Fair Trade Guarantee System.

Over the past two years, I have been involved in developing the analytical tools for the Sustainable Fair Trade Management System, designed to assess social and environmental performance of producer groups in developing countries with low levels of literacy. I have spoken at conferences around the world about the development of these tools, their application to ethical fashion and my work in piloting new Fair Trade & Sustainability certification.

Career history / Company history:

I established Pachacuti in 1992 after completing an MA in Native American Studies. On a research trip to Ecuador I was shocked by the inequitable trading patterns where intermediaries made all the profits and met two co-operatives who had experienced intimidation and arson due to the threat they posed to powerful middlemen who controlled the wool trade. On returning to the UK, I read Anita Roddick’s autobiography and decided that, if one woman could have such a positive impact on the beauty industry, there was nothing to stop me doing the same for the fashion industry. I returned to Ecuador and gave the co-operatives the financial resources to buy raw materials in bulk and, with no background in design, produced a series of knitwear patterns based on cave art in the region which proved so popular that they sold out in six weeks. Seeing the tangible difference this made to the producers’ livelihoods encouraged me to give up me PhD and concentrate on improving the lives of more producer groups in the Andean region.

2009 Received the World's first Fair Trade Certification for an organisation. Certified against the Sustainable Fair Trade Management System.
2009 Certified by EMAS the EU Eco Management Audit Scheme. Certified against ISO 9001 and 14001.
2009 Selected as a pilot for the EU Geo Fair Trade project to provide Fair Trade traceability down the supply chain.
2010 Awarded a Big Tick and Highly Commended in the International category of the Awards for Excellence for our work on the Sustainable Fair Trade Management System
2011 Winner Observer Ethical Awards
2011 Winner Sustainable Luxury in Latin America Award
2012 BITC finalist Small Company of the Year
2012 Finalist Red Awards ethical category
2012 Finalist Source Awards