Source Fashion, Europe’s newest responsible sourcing show, closed its doors following an unquestionably successful show that offered UK brands and retailers a diverse and safe space to source from audited manufacturers and artisans from over 20 countries enabling them to fuel the creation of responsibly made products.
Source Fashion welcomed a throng of high-calibre visitors and retailers across the three day show including Rixo, John Lewis, ASOS, Lipsy, British Heart Foundation, TikTok Shop, Ghost, Toast, Bo & Tee (Oh Polly), House of Fraser, Coast, Next, Urban Outfitters, N Brown, Love & Roses, Jeff Banks London, River Island, The Oxford Shirt Company, Finisterre, Harrods, TJX Clarks, French Connection, Lyle & Scott, Paul Smith, PepsiCo, Reiss, Jaded, River Island, Sainsburys, Very Group, AX Paris, Debenhams, Hunter, Boden, Amazon and many more eager to discover responsible high-quality fashion suppliers and new sourcing markets.
It is the show’s last edition in the National Hall at Olympia as it evolves and moves into the bigger Grand Hall space for February 2025. Source Fashion is now the largest garment manufacturing show in Europe, attracting hundreds of exhibitors with visitor numbers increasing by 120% since last July. Source Luxury has tripled in size since its launch at February’s show, and the show looks forward to launching footwear and leather in February 2025.
Currently sectioned by country, from February the show will be edited by product category, incorporating Womenswear, Menswear, Footwear, Accessories, Source Luxury, and Technology & Services.
Suzanne Ellingham, Director – Source Events, Hyve Group says, “We have a unique growth story. Since launching the show last year we have doubled down on our purpose, simply to help buyers buy better and it has connected with the fashion community. There is a clear need in the marketplace to find responsible manufacturers and to help retailers, brands and wholesalers build transparent, responsible, supply chains behind the beautiful products consumers love. The result is we sold out for July 24 in the National Hall.
“As we look to February and the expansion and launch into new sectors, it becomes clear that it is the support of our partners, agents and funding bodies, and importantly the buying community, which is driving the show from strength to strength. Our move into the Grand Hall will allow us to continue to build on this growth, fuelling range creation across womenswear, menswear, accessories and footwear and championing, as we always have, responsible production. We will continue to create a place where our community can learn and exchange ideas and drive change within their own businesses.”
Ellingham adds, “I truly believe we have created the must-attend event for the retail community allowing them to create ranges and work with great partners. The industry needs a platform for manufacturing in the UK and we hope to make Source Fashion the centrepiece for that. July’s show has been brilliant, but next February in the Grand Hall is going to be even better.”
Simon Platts, Co-Founder of Recomme who attended for two days said, “It’s been fantastic to be at Source Fashion, seeing the number of suppliers here, but also meeting with brands. Suppliers here today were showing fantastic capabilities for speed and agility, you’ve got representation all over the world including the UK which is brilliant from a sourcing proximity point of view. Several suppliers have caught my eye on various different levels, one supplier I know is making for Finisterre which is my go-to brand, the Patagonia of the UK, and its fantastic product. I would really urge anyone in our industry that’s looking at how they want to source better, whether that be people, planet, profit and purpose, you should be coming to this show. And if you haven’t made it this time, be here in February, the show is going to be even better than this one, even more incredible speakers, and if you’re a sourcing person, a person interested in the environmental and social side and improving that, and also, as I say, interested in being more agile and profitable, you have to be here – so that’s my call out to industry, Source Fashion is on your doorstep, come and see it.”
Scott Taylor from Hoggs of Fife also stressed the need for a UK show, “The importance of this show is that I can travel less. We don’t have huge teams, so a UK based show is fantastic. I’m here looking for new fabrics. Quality is very important to me, and I’m keen to source something a little different and newer to find a niche. I like the diversity in what Source Fashion is offering and we’ve picked up 2 potential new manufacturers today.”
Anabella Carvalho from Source Luxury exhibitor Miguel Sousa Portugal was delighted with the number and quality of connections made, saying, “So far, we have established 50 contacts at Source Fashion – a mix of new companies and established brands, which is very positive and the main reason we came to the show. Now we will follow up and establish ways of working together, including inviting them to visit us in Portugal. We wanted to be at Source Fashion, to present ourselves to new contacts in the UK, and save them having to travel and find us, for us it is important that we work hard to develop good co-operations and partnerships.”
Prince Arthur Oche from Beyond Clothing says, “We’re garment manufacturers from Nigeria. We’ve been manufacturing for 18 years but it’s always been local, never really gone beyond the shores of Nigeria. We know that one of the best places to go international is Source Fashion, we’ve heard so much about it. It’s been fantastic – a learning experience, and we’ve gotten some very interesting leads. People seem to be excited about the fact we’re from Africa, and we’re certainly hoping to be coming back in February.”
Syed Kazmi from Varsity City, who specialise in producing Varsity Jackets said, “I actually visited the show in February, I knew then it was the place to be – it’s a great place to have exposure. Coincidently some of the brands that I’m looking to network with actually came to the show themselves, I’ve had some great conversations with them. I’ve met loads of independents as well as big brands and recognisable high-street names, those are the movers and shakers you want to be involved with. We’re absolutely looking to come back in February, we’ve already reserved our stand.”
Day Three Seminar Programme
Focused on Learning, Education and Certification visitors enjoyed informative talks on the Developing Countries Trading Scheme, B Corp certification, how to source in new regions, understanding the Global Organic Textile Standard and building credibility through certification, and a panel session on derisking supply chains by working with new regions.
A game-changer for many, the Developing Countries Trading Scheme removes or reduces import duties from 65 developing countries. Visitors heard from UK policy advisors Sabiha Ahmed and Jasmine Dirie from FCDO on how to take advantage of new legislation that aims to stimulate trade with developing regions looking to diversity and increase their exports whilst providing financial incentives to UK businesses who want to source better.
As one of the most recognised standards in social and environmental performance, transparency and accountability, the session on B Corp with Geoff van Sonsbeeck CEO, House of Baukjen and Joanna Adjetey De Palmer, Engagement Manager, B Lab UK, gave visitors an insight into the B Corp certification process, how to prepare, but also how to undergo an internal transformation to keep in line with B Corp standards.
Sonsbeeck spoke on how empowering B Corp is for every member of the team. “B Corp drives how you can improve and innovate, it is such a more joyful journey for all of us, he said.”
On working with suppliers he added, “In fashion, to score on environment is difficult because of the inherent footprint. Part of the principle of B Corp is to work very closely with your suppliers. There used to be a very old fashion attitude to the supply chain full of secrecy. But if you start lifting the veil you can start collaborating on reducing the footprint, reducing waste and then you end up making more money. It becomes self-fulfilling. We do our best to inspire our suppliers to embrace the journey. There will be cynical suppliers and if they can’t work with how we do then we move on. It is engrained in our purpose to change the sector for good. We are living in a seminal stage in fashion with more innovation and partnerships and it is the future.”
In order to build a profitable sourcing strategy, there are multiple considerations and decisions to make. Anna Berry and Sara Allbright from Retail 100 Consulting unpacked the tips and tricks you need when considering working with manufacturers from new regions in their session, including far shore vs near shore regional nuances, how big buyers buy, and how to derisk and diversify to build a profitable sourcing strategy.
The next panel session, ‘Building credibility through certification – understanding the Global Organic Textile Standard’, welcomed Christopher Stopes from GOTS, Natasha Nickson from Soil Association, Mark Bloom from Komodo, and Bonnie Chan from Little Green Radicals to discuss how GOTS works around the world and how GOTS approved certification bodies support a brand’s sustainability promise. Stopes outlined the GOTS impact saying, “To use the GOTS logo, the story has to run through from the fibre and every stage of the supply chain – it’s not just using organically grown fibre, but the whole journey has to be certified to uphold the environmental and social traceability of the product and give the guarantee that the consumer wants.”
The final session of the day, ‘Shifting source destinations: diversifying business, improving lives’ brought together Delphine Clement Programme Officer, International Trade Centre (UN/WTO), Prashanth Kumar from Merchandising Manager, Ethical Apparel Africa, Helen Espey from Project Manager, Handmade from Tanzania, Eyob Bekele, CEO, Desta PLC, Kafle Chiranjivi, Vice President of Nepal Pashmina Industries Association, and Narindra Robin, Founder of Lana L’atelier – ANAKA. With many retailers and businesses seeking to de-risk their supply chains and manufacturing operations by working with new regions, the key takeaway from the session was that building effective and consistent relationships with those sourcing regions from day one ensures success.
Source Fashion returns on the 9th – 11th February 2025 in the Grand Hall, Olympia London. For more information visit www.source-fashion.com.