Building a fairer society with empty cement bags. Fikay’s unique approach to trading.

Our featured product from The Big Issue shop is The Fikay Beach Bag – £21.99 (plus P&P).

With today’s fast paced need for consumer goods, morality and rights are sometimes swept under the rug. This is often the case in developing countries where child labour and abuse of communities are rife by some large corporates. Fikay Eco Clothing is a fashion brand inspired by adventure who have a mission to make a positive impact internationally and are rethinking traditional supply chains for the greater good.

They hire widows and adults with disabilities within communities abroad, giving them a sewing machine which they purchase at 0% interest, paying this back over a year by working for them. These minorities are otherwise overlooked by employers, Fikay empowers them to gain opportunities and a route out of poverty that they wouldn’t have anywhere else.

And it’s not just these people who benefit from the new system. The company also donates part of every sale to the community’s charities to be reinvested in local education projects and the general infrastructure of the area. On-the-ground partners also train the workers in entrepreneurial fashion, since they know the local people best, providing them with yet another route to a better life.

But there are also benefits within the UK, and as well as the production element of the business, the design element is also helping people. The designers are UK-based entrepreneurs who are trying to get their work off the ground, and this provides them with a platform.

Fikay is a company whose first priority is to help everybody who works for them, while also providing a product with little impact on the environment, since they use recycled cement bags. They give their workers rights they wouldn’t have working for a large corporate chain, and are paving the way to a healthier fashion industry, whilst at the same time lifting people out of poverty and giving them the opportunity of a better life.

You can buy Fikay products from The Big Issue Shop: shop.bigissue.com

To find out more about Fikay’s work visit: fikay.co.uk

Words: Natasha Ellis.

Photos: Fikay.