Nest recognized as a ‘force for good’ in the apparel industry through a second Fabric of Change Award!

Ashoka and the C&A Foundation have joined in partnership to further the Fabric of Change, a global initiative to re-envision a fair, sustainable apparel industry and a future in which all stakeholders are empowered to ensure that people and the planet are respected.

Nest has been hand-selected as a leading apparel-industry innovator for our approach to systemic change in the informal handworker economy. With this second round of funding, we plan to amplify our efforts to reach dispersed, home-based workers through a commitment to supply chain transparency and sustainable business development that supports the production of handcrafted textiles and goods. Given the propensity for women to be employed in this sector, it is important to recognize their productivity is unregulated and therefore undercounted, perpetuating the misconception that women are not major economic contributors. We believe that industry-driven reform is the critical driver to connect handworkers, brands, and consumers in a circular and human-centric value chain. As a result, handworkers throughout the supply chain know and better understand their rights and have access to the resources and support needed to not simply be included but to be valued as productive members of a global workforce.

We’d like to take this opportunity to congratulate our co-finalists for the Fabric of Change award: Adriana Marina (Hecho x Nosotros), Carla Fernandez, (Carla Fernandez), Leila Ben-Gacem (Blue Fish) and Ashila Malapagama (Stand Up Movement). Together, we are making progress toward transforming the apparel industry into a force for good!

About Ashoka

Ashoka’s vision is an “Everyone is a Changemaker” society. Founded in 1980 by Bill Drayton, Ashoka is the largest global network of leading social entrepreneurs, with more than 3,300 Fellows in 90 countries. Ashoka builds and activates networks of individuals and organizations to support them in addressing the world’s biggest challenges and fostering collaborations for greater effectiveness and results. Along with business entrepreneurs, policymakers, investors, academics and journalists, Ashoka is working to ensure that social entrepreneurs and their innovations continue to inspire a new generation of changemakers.

About C&A Foundation

C&A Foundation is a private foundation affiliated with the global clothing retailer C&A. Through financial support, sharing expertise and providing access to a network of specialists, C&A Foundation strengthens platforms, NGOs, and other changemakers so that they can transform the apparel industry and make fashion a force of good. In all the countries C&A touches, C&A Foundation wants to make fashion improve the lives of men and women behind the clothes by focusing on 4 areas: accelerating sustainable cotton, improving working conditions, strengthening communities and eradicating forced labor.