At a glance: A clothing brand that not only creates fashionable pieces, but also remain environmentally and socially conscious. Location: Matchbox Pinkplanter, Bangkok, Thailand; Yueni Yingxiang, Shanghai, China; or www.theneraproject.com (shipping worldwide) For more information: www.theneraproject.com or instagram @the.neraproject This time I met with Neal, co-founder of The Nera project, at a coffee shop since they do not own a store. The Nera project caught my attention when I saw their super trendy Instagram account. Neal revealed that she had been wanting to launch a business, but she did not have a concrete idea yet. While studying Human Science at University College London, she saw a presentation about child labor and the exploitation of workers in the clothing industry, the second most polluting in the world. She and her friends combined their two interests together to create "Nera." She was determined to establish a trendy, yet transparent and sustainable clothing brand which is exactly what Nera is.She started from contacting a social enterprise that she did her internship, reaching out to fair trade certified fabric company in Roi Ed, and designing her first collection with her friends. Nera team researched different types of fabric and its environmental impact. On their website, there will be a grading scale for each fabric to educate their customers. Each collection, Nera tries to collaborate with various organizations to raise awareness on social issues and express its value on clothing. Here are some examples: "The Future is Female" project was launched to celebrate International Women's Day 2017. The T-shirts are made in both men and women sizes to support the #HeforShe campaign. "The Brunch Tote" is a collaboration with the Vocational Development Center for Disabled Persons (DCC). The organization "supports people living with disabilities by providing them with the skills necessary to build a long-term career in the garment and textile industry." The proceeds of the project go back to the DCC to improve their training session, working conditions, and salaries. The "Daring Changers" project is recently launched to support Operation Smile Thailand, "an organization that provides safe surgical care for children born with cleft lip and/or palate." The idea behind this project is to dare people to do something that will change their lives and other people's lives.
Those are some great examples of Nera's fascinating collaborations. Even though, Neal admits that the lack of public knowledge about social entrepreneurship sometimes complicates how Nera should present itself, she said the model of Nera and its uniqueness still attracts many organizations and customer. Lastly, Neal told me that she also wanted to inspire other potential social entrepreneurs that sustainable and social businesses do not have to be boring or financially challenged, "it takes great understanding of your own social goals and business model, but it can be fun, trendy, successful, and satisfying at the same time."
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