It is certainly becoming more important, particularly in the world of fashion where in truth there has been a lot of bad press in years gone by. There is a realisation that you need to put people above profit( I would also add environment to that) and there are hundreds of amazing small independent brands proving their own unique solutions. You have platforms such as www. positiveluxury. com and www. ethicalfashionfor um. com which are helping change this perception and that only has to be a good thing. I can’ t comment on the more established brands, but when I see fast-fashion at such low prices it does concern me.
Is it harder work and more challenging to ensure such standards are met? What more are you hoping to do- are there any other causes or expansion of the current projects PALA supports that you plan? Or any other type of products or markets you plan to expand into?
There are always things I am looking to improve on. For example at the moment we don’ t have our PALA symbol on the woven cases and I would like there to be some sort of branding there. It needs to be affixed locally( i. e. when the weavers are finishing their cases) so looking to find a manufacturer in Ghana of some sort of recycled tag … let’ s say it’ s proving quite tricky!
In terms of expansion of projects, there are a whole wealth of opportunities. Vision Aid Overseas work in Zambia, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Ethiopia and Sierra Leone, so we have only just scratched the surface in terms of involvement. Aside from vision centres there are dispensaries and outreach programmes that we can provide grants for so it is a case of sitting down with the charity and looking towards the next project now that we have completed the project in Chinsali. As for the weavers there is some real potential here. I work closely with the founder of Care For Basket and I am getting a good understanding of their needs beyond just the payment for the cases. For example on particularly hot days they would love to work under some form of shelter together, so I’ m working out how we can work towards having that shelter built.
I’ ll stick with sunglasses for now … and aim to get really good at doing that, but there is the possibility of moving into prescription glasses at some point in the future.
In terms of design and style- what makes your range stand out- what is the typical demographic of the PALA shades? Any new styles or ranges that you have introduced recently- what inspired these?
Our target audience is the‘ twenty-something’ although some of our classic styles clearly transcend age. There are a finite amount of styles in the sunglasses industry so in terms of creating a style that is unique and different that is clearly a tough proposition. However that said I do think we have some good‘ head turners’ in the range such as our NURU styles and our ZOLA styles have a great summer – they sold out very early( but have more coming in at the end of August!). I think what really separates us is our quality. We use the same premium materials that you would find on sunglasses 3-4 times our price. The eye-wear industry is a huge mark-up industry and you don’ t need to be spending hundreds of pounds on you sunnies!
Each year I visit MIDO in Milan and SILMO in Paris with my designers. They are the two largest optical fairs in the world and this is where we get much of our inspiration around shapes, colours, lenses and materials for the following season. I have just signed off on our 2018 S / S collection so you can see how far in advance we have to anticipate trend!
Are people becoming more socially / ethically conscious or does junk food consumerism of fashion still dominate? Can a brand be cool and socially conscious?
I certainly think this is happening, and largely being driven by Millennials. A Nielsen report I read recently indicated that 73 % of Millennials surveyed said they would be willing to spend more on a product if it came from a sustainable brand and that 81 % expect their favourite companies to make a public declaration of their corporate citizenship. That comes back to the point of being open and transparent. Ethical consumerism won’ t be for everyone, they will have different priorities or views, but for those that are buying into a more conscientious consumer lifestyle then I think there is an argument that a brand that is socially conscious is the new cool!
Thinking of the inequality levels, treatment of workers, mass consumption levels... how can consumers / members of the public fight back or support causes?
It’ s a case of actions speak louder than words. Do a bit of research into the products you buy – there’ s a lot of easily accessible news coverage out there and if you don’ t like what you see don’ t go there … even if there is a half-price sale!