During Amsterdam International Fashion Week the illustrations by Tessa de Graaf of the Dutch label Ownme will be presented in our conceptstore. The Ownme illustrations which are all about being yourself and doing your own thing will be presented in picture frames and on t-shirts. OWNME is an ethical brand with a very own signature. Tessa de Graaf believes in having your own style which is more inportant than new colours and models each season. The OWNME illustrations are screenprinted in the Netherlands on t-shirts made of organic cotton or bamboo. Especially for AIFW we have a special offer of t-shirts of the Charlie + Mary label with a printed OWNME illustration. Also a limited edition of our favourite and very cool summer shoes TOMS will be customized by Tessa de Graaf during this week.

AMSTERDAM INTERNATIONAL FASHION WEEK -DOWNTOWN
JULY 10-17
CHARLIE + MARY CONCEPT STORE

During the Food for a Better World Fevent this saturday Lisette Kreischer of Veggierose will be rewarded with the Vegan award. Each year the Vegan award is given to the company with the best vegetable initiative. Tomorrow at 16.00 o'clock the Vegan award will be given to Lisette. During this event, which takes place at De Neude in Utrecht between 11.00 and 17.00 o'clock you will be able to get to know Veggierose and the delicious cupcakes of Rosie and the cupcake factory. Lisette Kreischer, the face of Veggierose, Rosie and the Cupcake Factory en Veggie in Pumps, is known by her books “Veggie in Pumps” and “Ecofabulous koken in alle seizoenen”. Also this year she was rewarded with the Trendwatcher Of The Year award (TWOTY) in the category sustainability. We love the eco fabulous work of Lisette!

Right in the center of Amsterdam you can find the By AMFI Concept store. At the moment the concept "Groeikas" is about getting back to old meanings and focus on sustainable, fair and eco friendly fashion. The concept is visualized by a big tree with items "growing" on it, which are developed according to these principles. The tree is growing into the tree of life; a tree that represents growth, fertility and The Life of mankind. But this can't be done by the tree alone. It needs everything and everybody to help it to do so. And with every drop of energy the roots of the tree will grow deeper into the soil and the branches will reach wider into the sky. Our own Charlie + Mary collections as well as other collections sold in our store are part of the growth of the tree. This concept store is definitely word visiting. You will find the coolest sustainable items in the tree of life!

With our Charlie + Mary brand we are part of the Clean&Unique platform. This is a platform for young upcoming designers in fair and eco friendly fashion. Clean&Unique is part of the Fair Wear Foundation and this organization helps us to audit and monitor the working conditions in our factories. The Fair Wear Foundation works with a multilevel verification method. Each year the Clean&Unique members will individually be asked how we are doing and what progress we are making. Then there is the audit where the factory is visited by a local auditing team which is monitored by the Fair Wear Foundation. The focus is on interviewing the workers, safety and health inspection and document inspection. The most important part coming out of the audit is the corrective action plan. With this plan we can help the factories to improve the working conditions in their factories. It is clearly very important that we monitor if necessary steps are being taken by the factory management and if progress is being made. The Fair Wear Foundation works with local complaints centers where workers can go with their complaints. Also an info sheet in the local language has to be put up in the factories explaining the workers rights. As a Clean&Unique member we work together with our factory towards solutions and focus on a long term relationship with them.