Consultants Pool
Steve Lawson - Director
Steve’s a rag trade man through and through. He cut his sustainable teeth with both Courtaulds and Marks & Spencer and is the go-to man for retailers and suppliers in managing and improving ethical requirements.
Factory managers love him as he helps them be more efficient.
Clare Lissaman - Director
Clare has a passion that trade can, and should, benefit rather than exploit poor communities.
With a degree in Chinese from Oxford under her belt and over six years working in Hong Kong she’s also mighty handy to have around the factorylands of China.
Clare is an inspiring speaker and expert facilitator. Follow her @clarelissaman
Ilaria Pasquinelli - Director
Ilaria brings some Italian glamour to the team. A marketing specialist she can turn from the international: facilitating business links between emerging countries and western buyers; to the local, advising businesses on marketing strategies.
She’s also fluent in three languages: Italian, English and French. Follow her @ilaria78
Alex Smith
Alex Smith has 19 years Multiple Fashion retailing experience, 16 at Buyer level or above, most recently as New Product Buying Manager for Oxfam’s sustainable fashion boutiques. Prior to this she worked for blue chip fashion retailers including Etam, River Island and Oasis.
Alex has worked on a broad range of clothing and accessory categories sourced from the Far East, India, Europe and the UK. Working on production structures, including direct, agent importing and CMT, Alex has incorporated product design, development and sourcing processes, critical path systems, quality and assurance testing standards and liaison with marketing/PR functions for bricks and mortar and online retail channels.
At Oxfam, Alex focused on developing and delivering sustainable product ranges in line with Oxfam’s ethical sourcing criteria and policies. Her achievements included building an “end to end” buying/merchandising/retailing process to roll out to their newly opened boutique concept stores.
She has worked extensively with new student graduate businesses and further education institutions, small businesses and importers for overseas factory units or cooperatives, internal retail and ethical compliance and external PR functions.
Alex now offers consultation and project management on the following: ethical policy framework, sustainable strategy, sourcing and business practices, critical path systems & capacity building strategies for sourcing and product development, ethical product development, “design eye” and reading the market including trend research and its translation from an ethical viewpoint. Her career history means she can also offer advice on range/collection building, cost engineering and quality control, targeting buyers and markets, building and maximising supplier relationships, in store execution and visual solutions, potentialising sales and profitability.
For bigger businesses she also specializes in building systems to meet ethical sourcing criteria, including reviewing existing policies and processes, coaching and training buyers through background building of existing policies to work within new ethical policy framework processes, sourcing and business practices.
Graham Burden
Graham was an employee of Marks and Spencer for 34 years until his retirement in 2008. He worked in all clothing areas, at the company’s HQ, as a fabric development technologist.
Graham spent much of his time at M&S working on innovation, developing new fabric sources and ensuring quality and performance standards were understood and achieved. He developed particular expertise with cotton and jersey fabrics and as such became Marks and Spencer Knit Fabric Specialist in 1994 and additionally Cotton Specialist in 2003.
In 2005 Graham became Marks and Spencer Sustainable Raw Materials Manager and led the introduction of Fairtrade, organic and recycled cotton, recycled polyester, organic linen and organic wool. This led to the overall development of a sustainable raw material sourcing strategy as part of M&S Plan A programme. Graham represented Marks and Spencer on the Board of the Organic Exchange for 3 years and made many presentations worldwide on behalf of the company and his work on raw materials.
Since retiring Graham is now offering his expertise under his company name Sustainable Textile Solutions Ltd
Rebecca Earley
Rebecca Earley is a Reader in Textiles Environment Design (TED) at Chelsea College of Art and Design. She is an award-winning fashion textile designer whose research work and creative practice has sought to develop design strategies for the designer to employ in seeking to reduce the environmental impact of textile production, consumption and disposal.
In 2006 she curated the Crafts Council¹s Well fashioned: Eco Style in the UK exhibition, and was subsequently nominated for the Morgan Stanley Great Britons 2006 award, in recognition of her work promoting sustainable design. Her most recent curatorial project has been chairing the selection panel for the 2009 Jerwood Contemporary Makers exhibition.
Rebecca¹s own label fashion accessory collections (B.Earley) explore an exhaust printing process that she developed in 1998, for which she won the textiles prize in the 1999 Peugeot Design Awards. This process produces no water pollution or chemical or fabric waste. This award lead to commissions from: UK retailers Harvey Nichols, Liberty, Whistle¹s, Graham and Greene, Diverse, Matches, Jones Homme; Antonioli (Italy); Brown Thomas (Ireland); Barneys (US); Holt Renfrew (Canada); IT Ltd and Lane Crawford (Hong Kong), and Isetan (Japan).
Rebecca has worked as a research & design consultant for many companies including: the Eden Project; the Centre for Contemporary Art and the Natural World; Viaduct Furniture; Coventry Cathedral; Lynx; Queen Elizabeth Centre
for the Treatment of Cancer; Public Art Commissions Agency; Leon Paul Ltd; Lawler Duffy Shoes; Beauty Beast (Japan). Rebecca has also designed to commission for: Levi¹s; Damian Hirst; Bjork; Simply Red; Cher; and Kylie
Minogue.
Clara Vuletich
Clara Vuletich is a textile designer and researcher specialising in sustainable textile design.
With a passion for reinterpreting old craft and print techniques for modern, sustainable interiors, Clara produces hand-printed wallpaper and textiles to commission working in close collaboration with interior designers and fine art consultants on various private and commercial schemes.
Clara also works at the Textiles Environment Design (TED) Project, Chelsea College of Art & Design, a research cluster led by Rebecca Earley, who develop eco-design strategies for textile designers. She develops and manages the TED Resource, a collection of academic papers, case studies and reports, on eco textiles for designers and students and helps to co-ordinate lectures and workshops on bringing sustainable textile design knowledge into the curriculum.
With a background working in fashion retail and buying, Clara has also worked as a sustainable textile consultant for various companies including Better Thinking and John Smedley on a clothing project to develop the most sustainable and ethical t-shirt possible and Clarke & Reilly, an interior design company and furniture manufacturer.
Clara writes regularly about sustainable textiles and fashion design for various websites and on her blog www.loveandthrift.com .
Elizabeth Laskar
Elizabeth Laskar has worked in the non profit sector for 13 years. A Founder of the Ethical Fashion Forum, she has been involved with international development projects in Ghana, South Africa and the Commonwealth. Clients have included the BBC (TV and radio), V&A London, Paris Ethical Fashion Show, Ecologist, Bangladesh British Chamber of Commerce, and V Inspired with Ben de Lisi.
She founded SARI DRESS in 2005 as a means to raise awareness amongst young designers/adults about sustainability issues in fashion. She regularly speaks and writes on ethical fashion.
EL actively sits on the Steering Committee for the Young Leaders Integrity Alliance (YLIA), an global multi faith, multi cultural organisation which focuses on the recognition and development of young leaders. She is a Visible Woman Ambassador and in 2008 became a Trustee for World Emergency Relief, UK.
Elizabeth is currently working on opening and building links with Sri Lanka’s apparel sector. The Academy of Design, based in Colombo, is a pioneering young design school that has shown great interest in establishing an ethical school of design and seeks to partner with EFF. At this early stage the aim of the EFF Sri Lanka project will be to initiate dialogue, conduct research and explore a common strategy. Elizabeth will be making a research trip in November 2009 to meet manufacturers, designers, students and local artisans.
Jackie Andrews-Udall
Jackie is a leading consultant in sustainable development related to fashion and textiles. She has a dual role, consulting for humanitarian and governmental organizations on one side, on the other, engendering fairer sourcing methods and responsible design practise to fashion corporations. Her current clients include International Trade Centre (UN); the Centre for Sustainable Fashion, London; Lanvin, Paris; Bessini group, Istanbul.
Whilst Jackie was head buyer at Stella McCartney, she orchestrated delivery of the eco-capsule, establishing organic sourcing chains through to briefing sales and design teams. She thus founded a sustainable sourcing pool within Gucci Group, exploring better processing methods, tracking products’ full industrial imprint. Her work with licensees such as Adidas and Target inspired a wider take up of organic and recycled fibres.
Her deep knowledge of textiles, started with her career as a print designer in 1991. She has since held the roles of creative director, head buyer or license director for brands such as Karl Lagerfeld and Lanvin, She consults throughout the textile industry, for mills, converters and Fashion Houses, leading projects with Takisada, Aquascutum, Comme des Garcons and Disney, using a well established portfolio of suppliers.
Jackie has worked extensively throughout India, sourcing textiles and components, printing and designing fabrics; she was employed within the subcontinent, working on embroidery and lifestyle products whilst living in New Delhi. She founded “The Textile Library” in 2003 linking Indian tribal crafts, to industrial partnerships.
She is currently exploring the scope for textile development in Africa through mentoring links with Asian Tiger economies, and is exploring sustainable development within India, as part of the India Sustainable Development Dialogue.
Phil Patterson
Phil is a graduate colour chemist who has wide ranging experience in the textile industry gained from a career that has spanned research, manufacturing and retail; fibres, fabrics and garments; legislation, environmental compliance, standardization and innovation.
He was dyeing and finishing manager for Marks and Spencer prior to setting up Colour Connections Textile Consultancy in 2007.
His core knowledge and expertise is in dyeing, finishing, chemicals and sustainability but he also has an ability to understand the needs of different links in the textile supply chain and other stakeholders – such as media, pressure groups – and provide expert advice to non-expert clients in a form that is comprehensive and easy to understand.
Colour Connections provide advice, consultancy and training on many different textile subjects to a range of client groups ranging from industrial manufacturing through to retail.
Phil carries out a significant amount of work on environmental issues and sustainability and developed EcoMetrics, a simple eco-impact calculator to help industry and brands identify areas for improvement and to provide clarity and education on the muddled world of textile sustainability.
In addition to hands on consultancy Colour Connections are regularly asked to provide services that enhance working relationships between different parts of the textile supply chain and this involves assistance with marketing to downstream customers and assistance with provision of clearer specifications for up-stream suppliers.
Phil is a passionate advocate of supply chain transparency, worker safety and environmental compliance and works tirelessly to highlight the serious problems caused by the unregulated dyeing industry and also the opportunities for improvement in a sector that is often deliberately ignored or over-looked.
He is a founder member and Chairman of the RITE Group, a voluntary organisation aimed at promoting the reduction of environmental impacts of textile manufacturer use and disposal, and he regularly speaks at international conferences on the issues facing the dyeing, textile and retail industries.
Amisha Ghadiali
Amisha has worked within the Ethical Fashion Movement for the past four years. After working in politics, including both for an MP and a Congressman, she was curious about how fashion could change lives. In 2006 she set up amisha.elegance.rebellion, a socially minded jewellery label. Naturally interested in the bigger picture, Amisha worked for the Ethical Fashion Forum (EFF) where she was Associate Director until July 2010. She started work there as production manager for the RE:Fashion Awards 2008, the world’s first award ceremony celebrating ethical fashion. At the EFF she played a key role on strategy of the organisation worked on various projects. This included co-ordinating the Spotlight on Sourcing event series and launching the Ethical Fashion Forum’s international online network, which now has over 4000 active members from all over the world.
Amisha is the founder of Think Act Vote, which is a campaign to inspire and educate about sustainability and citizenship, with eco-fashion at one of the main tools. Amisha also works with fashion brands helping them understand the complete picture when it comes to bringing sustainability into their businesses, and advising them on how to increase their presence on-line.
Amisha regularly speaks at events and conferences about ethical fashion. This has included hosting an ethical fashion show at the William Morris Gallery, working with schools & universities and at the music festival Vintage at Goodwood. In addition she writes about eco-fashion for publications including Ecouterre and Style with Heart.
