This week on the blog, we’re taking a behind the scenes look at our charity partnership with Frip Ethique – Oxfam’s social enterprise, based in Senegal.
For the past 4 years, we at Seraphine have been donating all of our un-sold stock & un-used samples to the scheme – approximately 14,000 maternity garments so far!
By donating unused maternity clothes, we are minimizing our waste & helping Frip Ethique to fight poverty & make a positive impact in Senegal.
So you can shop Seraphine maternity clothes, safe in the knowledge that none of our stock goes to waste.
How Does Frip Ethique Work?
Frip Ethique means ‘ethical second-hand clothing’. The scheme employs 36 full-time workers based in Senegal, most of whom are women. Their job is to sort clothes donated to Oxfam and sell them on to local market traders.
So not only does the scheme provide permanent, fair employment for its own workers, but it enables over 500 small traders to make a living running their own businesses.
All profits from the scheme are invested back into Oxfam’s work fighting poverty in Senegal.
Life at Frip Ethique
The women working on the scheme are paid a fair wage, offered job security, sick pay and a pension. These are just a few of the things they had to say about how Frip Ethique had positively impacted their lives.
“Working at Frip Ethique has changed my life. The work is good. We work together; we laugh together. It’s changed everything.” – Charlotte Lopy, Clothes Sorter
“Now my children are all at good schools… I’ve worked at a lot of places but this is the best… We’re well paid, we’ve got job security, and we have sickness benefits and pension.” – Amy Collet Gueye, Stock Manager
Here at Seraphine, we are passionate about reducing our impact wherever we can. We are proud to work with Frip Ethique, minimising our waste & making a difference to the lives of people in Senegal.