Today is International Women’s Day, so it made sense that the only female Director of Thread Harvest should be the one to write a blog post today!
So here I sit, glass of red nestled beside me, favourite candle burning for inspiration and all I can think about is the four men who I run Thread Harvest with. These men wouldn’t necessarily stand out to you if you passed them in the street. They laugh at inappropriate jokes about bodily functions. They are as boisterous as they come. Their high fives to each other are always a contest as to who can make the loudest clap. To the naked eye they really are just typical guys.
But these four men do something few men would. They fight, everyday, to change the social situation globally for women. These four men are the ones who empower me to be all that I am and all that I bring to the Thread Harvest team. They respect me. Listen to me. Lift me up when I am struggling. And on a day where we are raising awareness for the empowerment of women everywhere, they are the ones sending me messages of praise and encouragement. These four men know the value women bring to the work place, they embrace it and support it wholeheartedly.
You might be wondering “well why then is there only one female Director?” which is a valid question. The answer is quite simple (and it’s not for lack of trying to bring more women on the team!), it’s because I chose to step up. I chose to be counted among the men. I chose to not shrink back. I chose to fight for women who cannot fight for themselves and I did this by acknowledging that I have been given an opportunity. So often we can leave the fight to someone else. We might throw a sentence or two behind these kinds of initiative but what are we really doing on a daily basis to change the situation for our sisters globally? Are we raising each other up in our own workplace? Are we singing the praises of our colleagues when praise is due? Are we encouraging and empowering each other?
Empowering women is our collective responsibility. We need each other to fight this fight. Both men and women. We need each other to speak up. We need each other to step up and take action against the injustice and inequality in our world. I would not be who I am today without these four men, in the same way these four men would not be who they are without me. We might not be able to change the world within a day, “but it’s precisely at those moments that knowing at least we’re doing it together gives us the strength to carry on.” (ref.)
The theme for this year’s International Women’s Day is “Women in the Changing World of Work: Planet 50-50 by 2030”
“The idea of this theme is to consider how to accelerate the 2030 Agenda, building momentum for the effective implementation of the new Sustainable Development Goals, especially goal number 5: Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls; and number 4: Ensure inclusive and quality education for all and promote lifelong learning. The theme will also focus on new commitments under UN Women’s Step It Up initiative, and other existing commitments on gender equality, women’s empowerment and women’s human rights.” (ref.)
How can we say we hope for such things to be a reality if in our day to day we do not support, encourage and fight for those women in our immediate world? This target for gender equality won’t happen unless we are all in this fight together. At Thread Harvest we are empowering women within our organisation, through our products and through the brands we partner with. We’re so passionate about the empowerment of women we made it an impact badge – it’s that important.
So on a day such as this I encourage you, dear sisters, to step into action within your own sphere of influence. Create change where you are today. And if you’re lucky enough to find four guys who stand for you and your tribe, I guarantee you’re bound to change the world.
Woman of influence Livia Firth, along with her Mr Darcy love, Colin Firth, hosted their annual intimate dinner to celebrate the Green Carpet Challenge before the Oscars this past weekend.
The Green Carpet Challenge is essentially an award given by the global consultancy firm Eco Age. Headed up by the ever lovely Livia Firth, Eco Age “powerfully aggregates global thought leaders and influencers to address the compelling issues and opportunities of our day by delivering solutions, through ethical and sustainable values.” (ref.)
The Green Carpet Challenge was designed to catapult sustainable and ethical fashion into the spot light, using the already existing platforms of influence from famous brand such as Gucci and Stella McCartney. Partnering with high profile celebrities such as Emma Stone, Meryl Streep and Mick Jagger, all who were present at the intimate gathering, to raise awareness and create change in the fashion industry.
Here are some highlights from the dinner:
(Image Source: @ecoage )
We could talk all day about our love for all things Emma Watson and the change she is championing through her influence for ethical and sustainable fashion. So it should come as no surprise that when she started a new Instagram account to cover her press tour for her latest film Beauty and The Beast, we were going to talk about it!
“So what!?” I hear you say, “people start Instagram accounts everyday” Correct! But it’s not everyday a high profile celebrity creates one in order to leverage the incredible amount of media coverage they will encounter to bring awareness to ethical fashion. And this is why we love Emma Watson.
It should come as no surprise that Emma Watson would use the media attention for good, given she is a United Nations Woman Goodwill Ambassador and using her huge social media presence to speak up against exploitation in the supply chain. Within hours of launching the Instagram account @the_press_tour the following had grown to over 200K with Emma posting only 3 images so far.
The first image has Watson casually dressed for the first leg of her Beauty and The Beast tour which takes her to the movies home country of Paris for it’s first public screening. Outlining piece by piece, Emma shows that to be ethical these days is all about style and substance, outlining the ethical practices each designer has used to create the product.
Like this outfit below of Emma wearing an Oscar de la Renta piece. Describing the outfit in detail, Emma says:
“Tonight was the first ever public screening of @beautyandthebeast! We were so happy to surprise the audience in Paris and say “bonjour” in person, especially as this is the country where it was created and Belle’s place of birth ??? Laura Kim and Fernando Garcia, the new Co-Creative Directors of @oscardelarenta, created this Jacobian flower-embroidered duchesse satin bustier with an organic silk faille sash and organic wool trousers as part of their first collection. The entire look was made in-house at Oscar de la Renta’s NYC atelier ❤ @burberry pumps handmade in Italy with organic silk. Fashion info verified by @ecoage #ecoloves “
The perfect outfit for the perfect evening – we’re a little jealous!
We are big fans of people like Emma Watson who use their platform to speak up, educate and create change. Check out her new account, you won’t be disappointed!