Collection: My Media
Trailblazing fashion social entrepreneurs see their names in lights during New York Fashion Week
A billboard campaign during New York Fashion Week celebrates ten women social entrepreneurs who aim to transform the fashion industry to become more equitable, inclusive and regenerative.
This week, ten women social entrepreneurs are being featured on billboards around New York City in the USA as part of New York Fashion Week.
The first bi-annual Conscious Fashion Campaign digital billboard campaign highlights ten women-led social enterprises in the fashion industry which are driving social and environmental impact.
The campaign is an initiative of the Fashion Impact Fund which supports women social entrepreneurs in the fashion industry.
It is critical to amplify the visibility of women social entrepreneurs transforming fashion as they represent collective insight into what is possible for transformational sector change
Over 100 applications from 25 countries were sent in by women social entrepreneurs in fashion and the final ten were selected by an advisory committee of women in the fashion industry. They were chosen based on their contributions to the sustainable development of the fashion ecosystem and other factors, such as supporting the advancement of at least one of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and the innovations, solutions or sustainable business practices they have implemented in their own businesses.
“The Conscious Fashion Campaign: New York honorees show us that the solutions, systems and strategies are available to transition the fashion industry to an equitable, inclusive and regenerative sector,” said Kerry Bannigan, executive director of Fashion Impact Fund.
“It is critical to amplify the visibility of women social entrepreneurs transforming fashion as they represent collective insight into what is possible for transformational sector change.”
The selected women social entrepreneurs and their enterprises are as follows:
Abhilasha Bahuguna, founder, director and strategist, Looms of Ladakh
Ayesha Barenblat, founder and CEO, re/make
Stephanie Benedetto, CEO and co-founder, Queen of Raw
Mariama Camara, founder and CEO, Mariama Fashion Production
Hilary Jochmans, founder, PoliticallyInFashion
Anyango Mpinga, creative director and founder, Anyango Mpinga Limited/Free as a Human
Ngozi Okaro, executive director, Custom Collaborative (pictured top)
Cyndi Rhoades, founder, Worn Again Technologies
Jessica Schreiber, founder and CEO, Fabscrap
Carry Somers and Orsola de Castro, co-founders, Fashion Revolution
Boosting women's presence in the media
In 2021, the 6th Global Media Monitoring Project found that women are subjects and sources of stories in just 25% of mainstream news media stories. In response to this, the Conscious Fashion Campaign, in collaboration with the PVBLIC Foundation, which mobilises media, data, and technology for sustainable development and social impact around the world, seeks to amplify the visibility of fashion-focused women social entrepreneurs to scale their impact. This is supported by the United Nations Office for Partnerships.
