Fabric of Change - Ashoka Fellow Lis Suarez of FEM International

Lis Suarez Visbal is the founder of FEM International and ETHIK in Canada. Lis wants to build a shorter, more direct and inclusive ethical fashion value chain for women artisans, with a goal to improve their income opportunities and reshape the fashion industry.

FEM and the ETHIK eco-design hub offer a two-sided strategy to achieve impact, working on strengthening the ethical fashion value chain. FEM is developing “E-Artisan-U,” a trilingual collaborative platform to deliver open-source training and resources for artisans and eco-designers in the developing world. ETHIK is developing a platform QR code that will connect artisans with consumers by partnering with big multi-brand, specialty retail outlets to enhance both face-to-face and online consumer engagement experiences and create a more in-depth understanding of the makers behind wares.