Fashion Designer Kate Spade & Company Empower Rwanda Artisans of Masoro

http://youtu.be/zKyGDVr-hR8

Kate Spade & Company brands includes the designer fashion lines of Jack Spade, Kate Spade New York, and Kate Spade Saturday. These brands are committed to playing a leading role in establishing meaningful standards to ensure fair wages and safe working conditions in apparel and accessories factories around the globe. In staying true to the company’s philosophy they developed a program called “On Purpose.” The big idea of “On Purpose” is to teach a community of artisans to become profitable suppliers and participate in the global marketplace.

“On Purpose” is not a charity program, but rather a training program currently working with 150 men and women living in the village of Masoro; which is perched high in the hills of Rwanda located just outside of the capital city of Kigali. Kate Spade & Company has gone above the industry standard of donating a portion of a its product purchase price or aid. What they’ve done is actually a gift that will keep on giving. Kate Spade & Company has made an investment into the community by creating jobs and a whole new business model around stability and trade.

All of the pieces from the On Purpose project are handcrafted limited editions for special collections. By purchasing products from the On Purpose line, consumers are helping to support the efforts of this training program and creating economic stability that will help to positively transform the trade industry. On Purpose’s goal is to continue to grow this program one community at a time by teaching other artisans to become profitable global suppliers.