Social Fabric «We Aspire»

We Aspire

Refugees undergo long, difficult, and often treacherous journies to arrive in their new home countries; many then experience huge barriers to using their skills and realising their potential in their new places of residence. Join us to create a better way forward! Cisse is a tailor from Côte d’Ivoire, who has been a member of the Social Fabric community since last year. Cisse is a creative and motivated person, with a passion for tailoring. We want to fund a six month paid internship placement for him at Social Fabric by co-creating products and services with him, and pre-selling them through this campaign. Together with you, we aim to offer Cisse a paid work placement that will allow him to further develop his technical skills and build a career in a profession that he is passionate about.

About Social Fabric

Social Fabric is a sustainable textile hub, that started as a pilot in Zürich in 2015. We are located in Zürich (Binz), and we have two main objectives – to promote the use of textiles that have a small ecological and social footprint, and to support the human potential of refugees locally.

Why should you back this project?

1. You want to receive a unique reward, made in Zürich with the best local craftsmanship from high quality and low impact materials.
2. Migration is currently one of the biggest challenges in Europe – yet, migrants can contribute significantly to their new home countries by building businesses, providing new skills and perspectives to their communities, and creating new local economies. You want to be part of making this possible in Switzerland.
3. You like to buy local, and you want to support local and sustainable production of textile products.
4. You want to be a part of our community, and contribute to creating change for the better.

What outcomes are we aiming for?

Of course, we aim to deliver high quality and original products to you, our supporters, that you will enjoy for years to come. In the production of these products, we aim to provide Cisse with a solid technical foundation in tailoring that he can use for his future career, wherever he goes. This technical training will be provided by Carola Ruckdechsel, a professional tailor and costume designer who is a member of the Social Fabric community. Our best case scenario is that during Cisse’s internship, he will build a client base, and in parallel, Social Fabric will grow the sales of its products, so we can provide him with a permanent position at the end of his internship. At the minimum, we aim to provide him with working experience, technical training, and a network that will allow him to work in this profession in Switzerland.

Where will the funds go?

The funds will be allocated as follows:

• Monthly salary for 60% engagement: chf 2400 per month (chf 14400 for a six month position)
• Deductions (AHV, pension, insurance; 10% of salary) : chf 240 per month (1440 for a six month position)
• ZVV transit pass (4 zones from Wetzikon): chf 164 per month (chf 984 for six months)
• Professional mentoring by a tailor: chf 500 per month (chf 3000 for six months)
• Cost of materials for producing rewards: chf 3000

Subtotal 22824

• wemakeit commission (10%): 2536

Total: 25360

Any additional money raised will be used to increase the length of Cisse’s internship at Social Fabric.

The Goodies

Thank you gift. Make a chf 30 contribution, and choose your reward – either a plastic pouch made from upcycled bubble wrap (perfect for trips to the badi or swimming pool), or a retro fabric cosmetic case (we will randomly select one of three fabric designs for you).

T-shirts. Choose from one of three t-shirt designs, available for men or women. The classic ladies ’Social Fabric’ t-shirt is a basic t-shirt made from Tencel, and was designed for Fashion Revolution week in Zürich in the spring of 2016. This is a great t-shirt for everyday use or for sport (Tencel is fast-drying). The ’Fanta’ t-shirt and the ’Mosaic’ t-shirt were co-designed by Carola and Cisse, especially for the ’We Aspire’ campaign. The ’Fanta’ model is named after Cisse’s sister Fanta, and is made from Tencel. The ’Mosaic’ model was created by Cisse when he was making a t-shirt for himself at Social Fabric. He had two pieces of fabric, but not enough of either one to create a whole t-shirt. He pieced them together to make this creative design. The t-shirt is made from a custom-knitted organic cotton fabric, produced in Portugal.

Women’s t-shirts

Men’s T-shirts

Fabric selection for Mosaic T-shirt

Nallow, the natural pillow (50 x 70 cm)

This pillow was designed at Social Fabric, in response to a special request by one of our customers. You will love this pillow because it adjusts to the shape of your neck and head when you lay on it, it provides just the right amount of support and comfort, and it is cool and breathable. This highly sustainable and CO2 neutral pillow is made from organic linen produced in Belgium, and is filled with organic millet husks sourced locally in Switzerland. Read more about Nallow at www.nallow.ch.

Convertible Rucksack

This rucksack was co-designed through a brainstorming by the Social Fabric team, some of our volunteers, Cisse, and Ndinga, one of our participants. The rucksack is made from organic linen, and upcycled jeans. The colour of the denim will vary from piece to piece, because each bag is made from a unique pair of jeans.

BeeHomes, donated by Wildbiene + Partner

Choose either the BeeHome Classic, or the BeeHome Observer (you can watch the larvae developing into adult bees through a build-in viewing panel). Read more about Wildbiene + Partner at www.wildbieneundpartner.ch.

Rewards donated by Story Fabrics ([www.storyfabrics.com](http://www.storyfabrics.com))

Story Fabrics is a local business that shares our values of ethical and transparent production of textile products. They offer a collection of organic and fairtrade bedsheets for adults and children, as well as babybodies. Receive one of two special rewards.

Ladies dress

Cisse has been teaching himself to follow Western-style patterns by making a collection of women’s dresses. Choose from one of three dress designs, and choose your size and fabric. When you purchase this reward, we will send you a selection of fabric swatches to choose from.

Men’s shirt

This shirt is made-to-measure for each person, using techniques that Cisse learned in Ivory Coast. He made the prototype for himself at Social Fabric. The main part of the shirt is made from black organic twill, and you can choose fabric for the complementary details from a selection that we have at Social Fabric.

Ladies blouse

Ladies jacket. Cisse also worked on a ladies jacket pattern as part of his self-initiated training. This jacket will be made to measure, and you can choose the length of your sleeves and the length of the hem. Bring your own fabric for this jacket, or purchase fabric from a limited selection available at Social Fabric (fabric is not included in this reward).