Safia Minney - Career - People Tree

People Tree

At age 25, Safia had an epiphany to start her own business from her Global Village network. She recalled, "I remember standing in a thunderstorm in Roppongi, the centre city of Tokyo, surrounded by these huge buildings and this corporate-driven city, but also by this huge force of nature, the thunder storm. It was a moment of awakening for me realizing the magnitude of the juggernaut of consumer society which was rolling forward. It had to be stopped. I had to make a choice between living a comfortable lifestyle or trying a different type of economic model." Finer, Nadia; Finer, Emily (2011). More to Life Than Shoes: How to Kick-Start Your Career and Change Your Life. It was this thought that was the foundation of her own fashion label that would use the fashion business as a tool to empower people from poverty stricken countries to improve their lives through providing them skills and reinvesting in their communities.

In 1991, Safia founded People Tree in Tokyo. Her first collection of clothing was made in coordination with Bangladeshi women who provided them with hand woven material which was pigmented by natural dyes. These items were sold by catalogue and featured an array of product including handbags, clothing, and clogs. Nicholls, Alex; Opal, Charlotte (2005). Fair Trade: Market-Driven Ethical Consumption. The initial start up was incredibly hard. Safia once said, " When I started out, I wasn't very realistic on how difficult it would be to make People Tree work. We were investing in labour-intesive process while the industry was going in the other direction: mass-manufactured fashion, using synthetics instead of natural materials. We were dealing with very disadvantage people in remote places, and the business costs were huge. It was a massive undertaking, but it needed to be done." Finer, Nadia; Finer, Emily (2011). More to Life Than Shoes: How to Kick-Start Your Career and Change Your Life.

In 1995 Fair Trade Company was formed as a limited company and a shop was opened in the fashionable Jiyugaoka district, in Tokyo. In 1997 Safia Minney added a Fair Trade Fashion Collection, using eco-textiles, including organic cotton, to the products sold by Fair Trade Company, and the first People Tree collection was launched. People Tree was working closely with textile artisan groups to help them meet environmental standards and develop their market potential, with two full-time designers at People Tree.

In 1999, People Tree's business expanded to England where the brand formed a partnership with Co-operative Group. By 2004, the company expanded into 20 different countries and turned over $1.79 million.Nicholls, Alex; Opal, Charlotte (2005). Fair Trade: Market-Driven Ethical Consumption.