Safia Minney

Safia Minney, MBE, FRSA is a British social entrepreneur and author. She is the founder of People Tree (although no longer CEO), a pioneering sustainable and Fair Trade fashion label with a mission to provide customers with beautiful clothes. She is also a well noted spokesperson and campaigner on Fair Trade and ethical fashion. She initiated World Fair Trade Day in 1999 which is endorsed by the World Fair Trade Organization and their members and celebrated on the second Saturday of May each year. Additionally, she co-wrote the book, Naked Fashion, The Sustainable Fashion Revolution. published by New Internationalist and in 2013 launched the Rag Rage Campaign which helped bring pressure with over a million signatories to clean-up practice in the fashion industry.

Safia started her career in marketing and publishing. She worked for Creative Review magazine for 4 years where she developed her passion for creativity and communications. From working in the advertising industry, Safia became excited about using the power of communications for social good by raising awareness of social and environmental issues.

After backpacking alone for 3 months between Bali and Myanmar, Safia created her own social marketing consultancy working with New Statesman and Friends of the Earth. In 1990, Safia moved to Tokyo with her husband where she learnt Japanese before working for a publishing company, Amnesty International and eventually the Body Shop.

Safia identified an opportunity to expand environmental awareness and Fair Trade in Japan. She started Global Village, an environmental campaigning and awareness raising voluntary group in her home which focused on all aspects of sustainable living. With students and friends, Safia began producing and publishing an organic listings – the ‘green’ information she believed people needed to live a more sustainable lifestyle.

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