First step
Where did Kaiko's story begin?
When the Rana Plaza factory in Bangladesh collapsed in 2013, I, like many other European consumers, woke up to the reality of where a large part of clothes are made and under what conditions the people who make them work. At that time, many people started to avoid buying clothes made in Asia, but I was worried about what would happen to people in these developing countries if their jobs and livelihoods were suddenly taken away from them. I thought there must be some other option than to stop buying.
When I started designing Kaiko in 2016, finding the answer to this question was at the top of my mind. I didn't even know where to start, but I knew that something had to be done. I had to take the first step and start somewhere.
What made Kaiko choose Naisten Bank as a partner?
We were looking for a suitable partner, and when we found Naisten Bank, we felt that our goals and values fit together. Naisten Bank's goal is to empower and train female entrepreneurs in developing countries seemed like a sustainable approach to foreign aid.
My visit to Nepal last fall coincided with an exceptionally stressful period in my own life, but when I saw the effects of Kaiko's work on the community, I got a whole new strength myself. I got to see what our continuous cooperation enables in the community of the charity target and what we can do in the future with local people and companies.
We are constantly thinking of more and more new ways to influence and help as Kaiko grows, and that is really exciting. This is just the beginning of our story!
How does Kaiko's slogan "Fashion with a Mission" come true in Kaiko's everyday life?
It is at the heart of everything we do. That is the reason why and how we do this work in the first place.
Although working conditions in developing countries can easily seem distant, the most important thing is to understand that we too can influence people's lives. Whether it's a company or an individual, it only takes small conscious choices in the right direction. You just have to start somewhere, get going. One day you may notice that the dream has come true.
When the Rana Plaza factory in Bangladesh collapsed in 2013, I, like many other European consumers, woke up to the reality of where a large part of clothes are made and under what conditions the people who make them work. At that time, many people started to avoid buying clothes made in Asia, but I was worried about what would happen to people in these developing countries if their jobs and livelihoods were suddenly taken away from them. I thought there must be some other option than to stop buying.
When I started designing Kaiko in 2016, finding the answer to this question was at the top of my mind. I didn't even know where to start, but I knew that something had to be done. I had to take the first step and start somewhere.
What made Kaiko choose Naisten Bank as a partner?
We were looking for a suitable partner, and when we found Naisten Bank, we felt that our goals and values fit together. Naisten Bank's goal is to empower and train female entrepreneurs in developing countries seemed like a sustainable approach to foreign aid.
My visit to Nepal last fall coincided with an exceptionally stressful period in my own life, but when I saw the effects of Kaiko's work on the community, I got a whole new strength myself. I got to see what our continuous cooperation enables in the community of the charity target and what we can do in the future with local people and companies.
We are constantly thinking of more and more new ways to influence and help as Kaiko grows, and that is really exciting. This is just the beginning of our story!
How does Kaiko's slogan "Fashion with a Mission" come true in Kaiko's everyday life?
It is at the heart of everything we do. That is the reason why and how we do this work in the first place.
Although working conditions in developing countries can easily seem distant, the most important thing is to understand that we too can influence people's lives. Whether it's a company or an individual, it only takes small conscious choices in the right direction. You just have to start somewhere, get going. One day you may notice that the dream has come true.
