Natwest Side Hustle has provided £550 of match funding
Bombast: circular fashion + jobs for young people
London, England, United Kingdom
Aim
Bombast is a social enterprise aiming to provide training and employment for young people through our sustainable streetwear collections
Picture the scene: You're a creative, talented young person desperate to get into the fashion industry, and you're looking for the first step on the career ladder. You do some research and find an internship- great! Oh wait. It's unpaid.
Here's the problem: You're from a low income background and your parents can't support you. You need to pay rent. And you need to buy food. And get there. The internship is for 6 months, and is full time. You find out you might need to do three internships before you find a job.
You aren't the problem, the industry is.
Picture the scene: You're a vibrant, talented young person working as a garment worker in Cambodia. You are underpaid, and have no labour rights. You are required to produce 500 pieces of clothing an hour, which Britons will buy and wear once, maybe twice, before it joins the £140 million of clothing a year that we send to landfill.
The industry has a problem, and it might seem too big to solve. But there are solutions.
Picture the scene: it's 1966, and you're a creative, talented young person. You get a job as a garment worker in Manchester. You are paid fairly, and receive training. In two years, you are working on complicated pieces, and earning more than your father. You are able to support yourself, and save money, and learn on the job.
This is a real scene. This was my grandma's story, and it shows that the fashion industry can be better. This is where Bombast comes in.
Bombast is a fashion label with a business model that:
- Invests in the skills of future fashion professionals, rather than exploiting them for unpaid work
- Allows young people to earn money while they are training
- Brings garment production back to the UK, ensuring fair wages and working conditions
- Uses innovative solutions to achieve a circular fashion economy
- Sources remnant fabrics and clever pattern cutting techniques to reduce waste
- Helps our customers look their best, while doing their best for people and planet.
How does it work? What will the money raised be used for?
The money raised will be used to pilot the programme with a cohort of young people, create the first Bombast collection which will fund subsequent programmes, and raise awareness and support via our Young Fashion Week event.
During the programme young people will
- Attend sustainable fashion and professional development classes
- Work on their own sustainable fashion design project
- Be responsible for creating pieces from the Bombast collection
At the end of the ten-week cycle, the Bombast collection will launch at a Young Fashion Week event, where the young people will also present their own design projects they have completed.
Money made from the sales of the Bombast collections will go directly back into running the next programme, but to launch we need your help - see our rewards packages below for ways you can be part of our own fashion revolution!
This project successfully funded on 14th January 2020