New Entrepreneurs

If you are 25 or under with an interest in setting up a business in the fashion industry and you want to to learn about sustainable business practices and business planning the New Entrepreneurs Programme is here to help.

The programme will introduce you to the ways in which businesses can support and benefit from the people behind their products; reduce their impact on the environment through sustainable manufacturing processes and develop effective marketing tools to communicate sustainability to consumers.

The programme will offer you the opportunity to learn from industry leaders by providing business planning workshops, one to one business planning advice, and internships with a broad spectrum of fashion related businesses. The New Entrepreneurs website faetures a host of online resources, inspiring case studies and next step links. www.eff-newentrepreneurs.org

The first round fashion business workshops detailed below, took place in November 2008 covering four key areas of sustainable business. Sign up to our newsletter to keep informed about all future project workshops and other EFF work.

Sustainable business - 5th November 2008 - 6.30p.m - 8.30p.m

• The first hour of the workshop will introduce you to some of the principles of sustainable business planning helping you to create an ethical framework for your business.
• The second hour will focus on funding and finance exploring possible avenues to raise funds for a start up ethical fashion business and looking at the basic principles of financial projections

• The first hour of the workshop will focus on your product USP looking at turning sustainability into an advantage for a fashion business and introducing the principles of range planning and trend forecasting.
• The second hour will focus on pricing your products looking at the options for wholesale and retail

• The first hour of the workshop will focus on customer profiling looking at how you can assess the market for sustainable fashion products, as well as targeting untapped customer potential
  
• The second hour will focus on creating a marketing plan that will promote your product at the same time as communicating your ethics

• The first hour will focus on supply chain management, looking at the different areas of the supply chain and how each area can be assessed and audited to ensure ethical practices are in place
  
• The second hour will focus on manufacture looking at purchasing practices and delving into some of the benefits and pitfalls of accreditation

January- March 09 - Fashion business workshops

• dates to be announced
  

February 09 - One to one business planning day

• dates to be announced
  

Workshops are open to individuals , designers and entrepreneurs based in Islington and East London, with restricted places for participants based outside these areas.

The workshops will take place at:

The Fashion and Textile Museum
83 Bermondsey Street
London
SE1 3XF

Sign up to our mailing list for more information or email info@ethicalfashionforum.com to receive an application form

(Places for the November Workshops are now full).

The Competition

If you attend at least three of the four available workshops you will be offered access to one to one business planning advice to help you perfect the business plan you will be working on in conjunction with the training.

Business plans can then be submitted to a competition. Competition winners will be offered a five week summer internship with a leading fashion business ranging from fashion and ethical PR internships, to design, wholesale and fashion buying internships.