We're still collecting donations
On the 8th December 2022 we'd raised £10,260 with 68 supporters in 28 days. But as every pound matters, we're continuing to collect donations from supporters.
Colèchi is launching an annual journal which explores fashion and farming in the UK in the form of a digestible and thought-provoking book.
by Colèchi in London, England, United Kingdom
On the 8th December 2022 we'd raised £10,260 with 68 supporters in 28 days. But as every pound matters, we're continuing to collect donations from supporters.
This will allow us to print more copies by covering high production and printing costs, allowing the journal to be distributed and available in public places including libraries, museums and other venues.
We are launching our first printed journal, themed: Fashion and Farming exploring the the origins of clothes from the soil to your wardrobe through digestible and thought-provoking essays, texts and visuals to stimulate ideas and collaboration.
We are raising funds to support the production of the journal.
Colèchi is a fashion research agency and we work with brands, government and education to create a more ethical and inclusive fashion industry.
We saw that 72% of us would pay more to support brands that share our values but the truth is only 17% feel that we can identify a ‘sustainable’ brand.
We’ve made it our mission to bring awareness of how fashion operates and connect people with their clothing in human ways. We do this through events, workshops and content - and now a printed journal.
Colèchi began as a passion project between us (sisters Piarve and Tina Wetshi). From a young we were obsessed with the fashion industry, but faced barriers when trying to enter. In 2018 during fashion week, we started a series of events called “Become a Fashion Brand” in central London. Surprisingly these sold out every time! What we loved was that they encouraged collaboration, co-learning and community between the speakers and curious creatives like us, contrary to other industry events happening around that time.
Over the years this organically grew into a collective of multidisciplinary people merging fashion with other fields such as science, agriculture, art and tech with a common goal to do fashion better. Our slogan began and remains as “The people redefine fashion”.
Although each event left us with more questions as we quickly discovered the toxicity, exclusivity and environmental damage caused by the industry. So we began collaborating with our growing community to work towards a cleaner fashion industry.
We renamed the collective ‘Colèchi’ (a portmanteau of ‘collective’ and our family name Wetshi).
At the height of the 2020 pandemic, we launched Clean Fashion as a series of online events. The series invited great minds from different areas of fashion, including designers, factory owners, content creators and brand managers and resale platform leaders, to discuss the ethical challenges from their perspective, opening up an untapped conversation - how does the fashion supply chain really work and can it be collaborative? The series became the foundation of Coléchi's Clean Fashion Campaign, a movement exploring the fashion system in four parts: sourcing, manufacturing, media and the afterlife.
The following year (2021) we presented the campaign as an exhibition for London Design Festival's South District Trail, expanding the community of Clean Fashion designers and practitioners. This year (2022) in April, Clean Fashion evolved into a summit at Somerset House, with over 300 attendees. The day event saw expert talks, an art installation, workshops and the opportunity to meet new people over breakout sessions.
We continue to find ways to showcase how fashion can be cleaner. For instance our monthly knitting clubs - You can Knit With Us, The Clean Fashion podcasts and our downloadable guides.
We were introduced to a movement called Fibershed during a project we worked on, and we constantly collaborated with their collective to better understand the sourcing element of the Clean Fashion model. Issue one will explore this area, going back to the origins of our fibers and sharing the voices of the people that are behind this section of fashion.
Sourcing is the first part of the fashion supply chain which is highly overlooked. Globally farmers and growers are underpaid despite the process being labour intensive and vital to the production of garments and accessories. All clothes are made from material, and our first annual journal will explore the role that agriculture plays in fashion.
We are halfway through writing issue one, but we need your help to get the journal printed. The Journal will officially launch in April 2023 and it will be 150 pages of essays, interviews, photojournalism, diagrams and first hand experiences.
Our goal is to share our research and insight in a thought provoking, digestible, personal and colourful way, but printing a book in the most ethical and fair way has a price. The money we raise will
Allow us to prioritise this project and launch in April 2023
Pay contributors, which include writers, photographers and graphic artists for their contribution and knowledge
Use local printers with ethical values
Distribute it to those that will benefit from it. We aim to print copies to distribute to public spaces, including colleges, schools and libraries.
A new fashion industry is emerging and our journal is the first of its kind; a new voice for fashion intelligence in a jargon free way. From the unheard voices on the ground of the fashion supply chain.
*South East England Fibershed and North West England Fibershed
A digital thank you! We appreciate you for supporting our work!
Pledging £50, you will receive the Journal before it is released to the public and bookshops. Plus a personalised thank you note and digital copies of our Clean Fashion booklet and Vegan Leather Guide.
Receive our exclusive digital Clean Fashion Set! This includes interviews and voice notes that did not make it into the journal, unseen footage from our farm trips and exclusive BTS content.
PLUS pre-order the journal and thank you note.
Pre-order a Hardback limited edition of the booklet and have your name featured in the acknowledgments.
PLUS our digital Clean Fashion set and thank you note.
Join Colèchi on our next regenerative farm trip (UK)* , nominate a friend of choice or sponsor a place.
PLUS pre-order the journal, receive our digital Clean Fashion Set and thank you note.
*Must be based in the UK. This includes visiting 1 out of 4 of the UK farms that the Colèchi team will visit as part of the research. Includes travel expenses paid (return) and lunch for the day.
All pledges will automatically receive invites to our Clean Fashion Summit on 20th April 2023 at Somerset House
This project offered rewards