Ethical lingerie brand AmaElla are hosting a party to celebrate ethical fashion on Thursday (20 October) at Espresso Library in Cambridge.
The event will also launch the brand's crowd-funding campaign for a new ethical lingerie brand offering stylish, organic cotton designs, produced according to strong ethical principles.
AmaElla, a social venture set up by two best friends, aims to raise £10,000 to enable its first production run. Ethical fashion gurus Kate Larsen, director of anti-slavery charity, Business For The Unseen, and Roberta Style Lee, confidence coach, stylist and advocate of a sustainable wardrobe, will be speaking at the event, sharing the latest insights, issues and trends in the sustainable and responsible fashion movement.
Cambridge-based social entrepreneurs, Lara San Gil and Julie Kervadec, look set to get both consumers and the fashion industry talking at the launch event of their new ethical lingerie brand AmaElla, this month. The event, a Fashion Ethics Party, will be held in Espresso Library, Cambridge on 20th October from 6.30pm. With ethical fashion gurus Kate Larsen and Roberta Style Lee providing keynotes, and consumer investors and industry influencers attending this invite only event, the entrepreneurs’’ intention is to inject some momentum into the ethical fashion movement.
Lara and Julie met whilst studying for a Master in International Marketing and Communication in Madrid. Collaborating on a L’Oréal brainstorming competition, and making it through as finalists, it became clear they shared a common purpose of a social nature, a common frustration, of an undergarment nature and a complimentary skill-set, of an entrepreneurial nature.
“As consumers, we’re both very mindful of health, ethical and style concerns. We got talking about our frustration at being unable to find organic cotton lingerie that looked elegant. Whilst there are brands offering stylish non-synthetic clothing, none seemed to be developing stylish non-synthetic lingerie, the layer we wear closest to our skin,” observes Julie.
“The issue is that synthetic materials, commonly used in lingerie, hold moisture close to the skin, increasing the likeliness of infection. More than 75% of women experience a yeast infection in their lifetime, with 1 in 20 having recurrent thrush. To avoid these problems, dermatologists and skincare experts recommend cotton to guarantee good skin perspiration and breathability, yet the organic cotton lingerie on the market lacked appeal to style conscious consumers,” Lara explains further.
Their chance conversation became the basis of a strong friendship and business idea. AmaElla (a wordplay meaning ‘she loves’, or ‘love her’ in Spanish) was accepted into Cambridge Social Ventures’ incubator programme in January 2016. The two have since worked tirelessly to develop their business plan and first product range. They chose a crowd-funding campaign, rather than turning to more traditional methods of finance, to fund their venture, because it fits their business model and values.
“ Upeffect it is a crowd-funding platform for conscious consumers. It’s a great fit with our target audience. The way Upeffect supports social business, from the beginning to the end of the campaign, matches exactly our needs. We’re so excited about launching and seeing how much interest there is for our ethical brand,” advises Lara.
Looking to raise £10,000 for its first production run, AmaElla is offering a range of rewards to investors, including pre-ordering at discounted prices to ensure they receive their lingerie ahead of the retail trade. Perhaps the biggest reward though, is the knowledge that their investment is enabling a new brand of ethical lingerie that offers health conscious, style savvy, ethical consumers garments that are:
- Organic, carbon neutral and free from hazardous chemicals
- Manufactured in Europe by suppliers who comply with strict social criteria, including: no outsourcing; no child labour; no forced labour; strong health & safety policy and some evidence of activities that increase the wellbeing of local communities
- Driving awareness and engagement in the ethical fashion movement
AmaElla only uses GOTS certified organic cotton and OEKO-TEX Standard materials. Products carrying the GOTS symbol are manufactured from organic fibres, which have met strict environmental and social standards during processing and have been certified by an independent, third party along the whole supply chain. OEKO-TEX Standard materials do not contain harmful chemicals or dyes.
To find out more and to donate to AmaElla’s crowd-funding campaign, visit: www.amaella.com
To request an invitation to this event, contact: l.sangil@amaella.com.
About AmaElla
AmaElla designs and produces beautiful lingerie made from certified organic materials, such as cotton. They manufacture ethically too, only using organisations that adhere to their strict social and environmental criteria. The high quality fabric, designs and manufacturing processes AmaElla is committed to, ensure that all their garments are long-lasting (they look like new after 50 washes). AmaElla’s wider vision is of a more sustainable and responsible fashion industry. AmaElla’s garments enable you to become part of this movement.
Follow AmaElla on Facebook: AmaElla, Twitter: @AmaEllaLingerie and Instagram:AmaElla_Lingerie
AmaElla are based in The Hatchery at Allia Future Business Centre, home of Serious Impact - a free programme of structured support to help Impact Ventures start-up and scale. Find out how we could help your business at www.seriousimpact.co.uk.
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