https://linktr.ee/leagueofartisans

League of Artisans, 70 Derby Street, Leek (2026)

09/01/2026

🛠️In the immediate aftermath of a disaster, a rough guide for action in the short term can lead to recovery in the long term.

- Within the first 10 minutes or more, prioritise people’s safety by ensuring evacuation routes are accessible, making sure everyone is out of danger, first aid available, and there is access to water and food.
- After 10 hours or less, assess damages and needs, identify essential supplies, organise the distribution and basic communication
- After 10 days or less, reassess the long term damages and develop a plan for recovery

📝Reassess the layout of the workshop to evaluate the damage to tools, materials, inventory, workflow and finances. Identify the support needed and make updated changes to the Risk Map that was created during the planning stage to reduce future risks.

The artisanal community can collectively approach local authorities and relevant agencies by showcasing assessments, evidence and providing recovery solutions to support a coordinated response.

Stay in touch with buyers and partners, inform them of the situation, communicate any delays and adjusted deadlines.

💪 While disasters cannot be controlled, through perseverance, honouring of traditions and community strength can help recover and move forward innovating new ways to protect their craft for the future generation..

🔗To read the full version of the toolkit is available - https://leagueofartisans.org/projects/climateresilience

🧡The toolkit was developed with support from the British Council Philippines under the Connections Through Culture Grant . The project was co-led by Ritu Sethi and Sol Marinucci within the framework of League of Artisans, in partnership with Twinkle Ferraren

07/01/2026

Disasters can happen unexpectedly or with regularity but pre-planning can make a huge difference.

💭The vital foundation of preparedness is to acknowledge and follow all safety guidelines and warnings issued by local and national authorities. In addition, different cultural practices across communities are also successful in communicating safety measures.

For instance:
- Pattachitra scroll from West Bengal, India use painted scrolls and narrative songs to share lessons learned from disaster
- Nukkad Natak used across India and Bangladesh showcases social and environment issues through dance
- Puppet shows across South-East Asia use storytelling and humour to communicate educational messages in planning and recovery.
- Remote areas rely on community radios to receive important disaster updates.

🗺️Taking precautions such as Risk Mapping your workshop and home helps identify vulnerable areas and anticipates future risks of flooding, material damage, electrical hazards and blocked evacuation routes.

Creating an additional Community Hazard Map strengthens community resilience. By working together, artisans and members of the community can draw on past experiences and local insights to identify risks, highlight safe areas and evacuation routes. These maps can be presented to local authorities and agencies to bring awareness and develop countermeasures for future disasters.

It is also important to have community alert systems by keeping emergency numbers readily accessible.

🦺During a disaster, it is essential to prioritise physical safety by following government instructions, keeping a safety kit nearby, being knowledgeable of evacuation routes and safe locations, and staying in touch with both the community and local authorities.

🔗Full version of the toolkit ( https://leagueofartisans.org/projects/climateresilience)

🧡The toolkit was developed with support from British Council Philippines under Connections Through Culture Grant . The project was co-led by Ritu Sethi and Sol Marinucci within the framework of League of Artisans, in partnership with Twinkle Ferraren

05/01/2026

League of Artisans and Twinkle Ferraren have developed a practical toolkit ‘Climate Resilience: An Artisan Toolkit for Recovery, Regeneration, Renewal’. This Toolkit was developed with support from British Council Philippines under the Connections Through Culture Grant

🌏The effects of climate change have increased the risks of natural disasters, posing a significant threat to artisans and their communities whose livelihoods depend on their craft. These impacts include loss of income due to damaged raw materials and goods, destruction of infrastructure and equipment. With the recurring climate disasters it forces many skilled artisans to seek other work opportunities, whilst placing generations of craft knowledge and cultural heritage at risk.

🔎There continues to be a lack of shared documented knowledge on how artisans plan, cope and recover from climate disasters. This toolkit provides practical and innovative solutions for artisanal business and women led enterprises to reduce future risks, be climate-prepared and help recover post disaster. It also calls for policy makers to address information gaps and enhance resilience and recovery building policies to support artisans pre and post disaster situations.

By integrating indigenous, local and scientific knowledge this toolkit showcases findings, creative responses and lived practices learned from disasters of the past. The research is drawn from experiences and knowledge of artisans in Bangladesh, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Nepal, Peru, Philippines and Sri Lanka.

🔗Additional information about the toolkit will be shared in upcoming posts, the full version of the toolkit is available via link (https://leagueofartisans.org/projects/climateresilience )

🧡The toolkit was developed with support from the British Council Philippines under the Connections Through Culture Grant . The project was co-led by Ritu Sethi and Sol Marinucci within the framework of League of Artisans, in partnership with Twinkle Ferraren

03/10/2025

Too often, the vital work of artisans in fashion value chains is overlooked.

When it comes to the environmental reporting of artisan production there are transparency gaps that exclude the true impact of artisanal production.

We urgently need to see systemic shifts across the fashion and homeware industry to make visible the true impact of artisan processes, ensuring the fair and equitable inclusion of artisans in a just transition.

This includes shifting:

🪡 From brand-driven strategy to sector-wide accountability

🪡 From informal status to formal inclusion

🪡 From compliance to collaboration - investing in co-developed solutions that recognise the contributions of artisans

🪡 From partial to comprehensive environmental assessment

🪡 From top-down training to grassroots capacity-building

🪡 From output metrics to impact evaluation

🔗Read more in the CRAFTED report at the link in bio

22/08/2025

Join us on 28th August as we dive into how emerging technologies of Digital Product Passports and blockchain systems are reshaping the landscape of craft production

This webinar builds on the momentum of the CRAFTED Report - the first-ever Artisans’ Index that highlighted 50 leading fashion and homeware brands for their transparency in artisan supply chains.

The speakers will examine how these tools enhance traceability and have the potential to redefine standards of transparency, accountability, and equity within the craft ecosystem.

What to expect:

🧶An overview of the CRAFTED report and Artisans’ Index by Professor Deirdre McKay and

🧵A presentation by Robert Meeder, Senior Adviser to the EU Cultural Platform, examining the use of blockchain technology in Sri Lanka’s only Fair-Trade certified handloom manufacturer - with its Director,

🎙️Followed by a Q&A session on available technological solutions, with Lesley Pennington - Chief Executive of We Are Legacy - and Christian Listérus, Chief Executive of Lingon.

🗺️ Textile workplace Eco-mapping with Heinz-Werner Engel, Senior Advisor and auditor in ethical, social and environmental standards.

📆Date: 28th August
🕒Time: 3pm BST
📍Online via Zoom (free)

This will be of particular interest to fashion industry professionals, CSR leads, fashion and homeware brands, NGOs, and anyone working towards climate-positive supply chains!

🔗Book your space now via the link in our bio!

Hosted by League of Artisans in collaboration with Keele University and funded by the IMPACT+ Innovation Network.

18/08/2025

Following the successful launch of the first Artisans’ Index in June — part of the CRAFTED Report — we are continuing to strengthen this important work.

In light of growing concerns around supply chain abuses, it is more important than ever to ensure that our indicators reflect the realities faced by artisans and home-based workers.

The Index ranks 50 fashion and homeware brands across environmental, cultural and social metrics. We are now looking to refine our environmental indicators to reflect the priorities that matter most, ensure that environmental priorities are meaningfully reflected in the Index. To do this, we are keen to hear your views.

This short survey should take no more than 5 minutes, and will really help us as we define priorities to support artisan production moving forward.

🔗You can access the short survey at the link in our bio. Deadline end of September.

13/08/2025

Cultural appropriation remains a common practice in the fashion industry. Brands, from fast fashion to luxury, co-opt Indigenous and artisanal designs without fair credit, recognition or compensation.

The Artisans’ Index discovered that only 18% of fashion and homeware brands have a cultural appropriation policy.

As we continue to see incidents of cultural appropriation by major fashion brands, this severe lack of policies to protect artisan communities from cultural appropriation is troubling.

Just last week, Adidas faced accusations of cultural appropriation following the release of its new “Oaxaca Slip-On,” designed by W***y Chavarria. Mexican officials are calling for fair compensation as the design closely replicates the traditional huarache — an Indigenous artisanal sandal design.

During their statement, Adidas and designer W***y Chavarria apologised for the shoe not being made in meaningful partnership with the artisan community and stated “The intention was always to honour the powerful cultural and artistic spirit of Oaxaca and its creative communities”. But honouring culture and design comes from credit and acknowledgement, not erasing the true source of inspiration.

This resonates with Prada’s response after they too were accused of appropriating the design of Kolhapuri chappals - traditional Indian sandals.

Brands regularly claim to celebrate craftsmanship, heritage and traditional designs in their apology statements. But we don’t need statements, we need policies that are put into practice.

The lack of brands implementing policies to protect artisan production from cultural appropriation undermines the authenticity of their claims.

We need brands to implement fair policies that protect and respect the cultural designs and craft practices of artisan communities and commit to sustaining these traditional crafts through collaborative partnerships.

09/08/2025

The fashion industry has a history of exploitating the knowledge, resources and designs of Indigenous Peoples, without consent, respect or recognition.

On this International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples we urge fashion brands to shift from extractive relationships to collaborative relationships that recognise Indigenous communities as co-creators , valuing their vital skills and knowledge in relationships built on consent, credit and fair compensation.

In the powerful words of Valbina Miguel Toribio () Yanesha’ Activist, Artist and Designer:

“To those who truly value our knowledge, we say: do not buy from the industry that exploits us. Buy directly from the hands that create. Buy from the true authors. Fashion, beyond being one of the most polluting industries on the planet, has taken what does not belong to it: our knowledge, our land, our bodies, our languages. But this can change if we adopt a new design ethic based on respect, consent and justice.

For all these reasons, it is urgent that anyone working with Indigenous peoples – whether designers, brands, NGOs, or institutions – respect Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC). There can be no true collaboration without horizontal dialogue, clear agreements and mutual respect. And there can be no sustainability without ethics.”

08/08/2025

Artisans are key contributors to fashion and homeware industries, yet so often they remain invisible.

🪡The CRAFTED report highlights transparency gaps in brands’ environmental reporting and suggests areas for improvement to drive policy change for a more inclusive sustainable fashion industry - that values the contributions of artisans.

Alongside systemic shifts and greater transparency, we also need cultural shifts in the fashion and homeware industry - that shift brand and consumer perception’s of artisan production.

This includes shifting:

🧵 From decorative to essential, recognising artisans as fundamental to the ethos and culture of a brand

🧵From environmental compliance to environmental culture, learning from artisans communities rooted in local sustainability knowledge

🧵From product-centric to process-centric: valuing not only what is made, but how it is made.

🧵From one-off projects to long-term partnerships that enables artisans to plan for their futures

🧵From artisans as labour to artisans as innovators

🧵From customer as consumer to customer as informed actor through detailed product-level data

It’s time the industry recognised artisans as fundamental co-creators of future-proof systems.

📷 Image 1 by Ana Paula Fuentes

📷Slide 4 image by Mariela Sancari

01/08/2025

With reciprocal tariffs taking effect today, brands establishing long-term relationships with suppliers is more important than ever.

The CRAFTED report revealed that 42%
of brands disclosed having long-term relationships with suppliers.

Long-term relationships are absolutely crucial for brands to make meaningful long-term improvements in working and environment conditions.

Lack of disclosure here limits understanding of how deeply brands are engaged with the communities behind their products.

As we saw during COVID-19 many major brands abandoned suppliers and cancelled orders - with the impacts falling on artisans and garment workers in supply chains. In times of tariff uncertainty there are risks of brands repeating bad practice as they look to drive down production costs. Artisans, many of whom are women and often engaged in subcontracted labour, are vulnerable to exploitation, pay cuts and job loss.

To build climate resilient value chains and support a just transition, brands must commit to long-term relationships with suppliers and ensure they actively work to have a meaningful impact.

30/07/2025

This week the latest report from revealed a 7.5% increase in the fashion industry’s emissions since 2023 - mostly caused by an increase in polyester usage and the rise of ultra-fast fashion.

The fashion industry seems to be moving further away from its goal of halving its carbon footprint by 2030.

The report reveals that despite the increase companies have achieved measurable reductions in their Scope 1 and 2 emissions and that many brands are reducing their scope 3 emissions, working with suppliers to scale climate-conscious operations.

But while the CRAFTED report found that 74% of brands have timebound targets to reduce Scope 3 emissions that included artisan production - only 14% of brands include outsourced artisan production in these targets. From luxury to fast fashion, subcontracting is a widespread practice - and brands must ensure their climate targets include all parts of their supply chain to have meaningful impact.

For the industry to cut its emissions we urgently need to see a transition away from fossil-fuels to renewable energy sources. The problem is:
🔴only 34% of brands disclose the type of energy used in artisan production. Without this data, strategies to decarbonise lack credibility.
🔴 only 20% of brands provide funding to help artisans install renewable energy.

In both cases these are primarily luxury brands with more integrated suppliers. Currently there is a clear shortfall in tangible support for artisans to transition away from fossil fuels. The cost of this transition should not fall on the shoulders of workers in the value chain.

Read the full crafted report at the link in bio to learn more.

22/07/2025

Fast fashion brand, ASOS, scored just 34% on the Artisans’ Index.

While luxury brands generally scored higher than fast fashion brands, a broader industry issue is emerging: many brands’ written policies and strategies often fall short in implementation.

Despite ASOS’s low score and ongoing reliance on a fast fashion business model, there is a notable area of good practice. The brand is one of the few to have adopted an inclusive Homeworker Policy—one that explicitly values the skill and contribution of homeworker artisans within its supply chain.

Their policy recognises homeworking as a legitimate form of labour and commits to the fair and equitable treatment of home-based workers.

This is especially important in the fashion and homeware sectors, where many artisans are homeworkers and often remain vulnerable due to their informal and frequently invisible status in the value chain.

A robust Homeworker Policy can help ensure fair wages, safe working conditions, and greater representation of artisan voices in sustainability initiatives.

While ASOS still has a long way to go, the adoption of this policy is a meaningful step toward more ethical and inclusive practices in fashion.

League of Artisans

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