Endelea, ethical fashion between Italy and Tanzania

Endelea's fashion is a responsible proposal that combines Italian design and production made in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

Endelea, a brand that produces in Tanzania garments and accessories for the home with a typically Italian style with African wax fabrics, was born in Milan in 2018 as a self-financed project by Francesca De Gottardo And Serena Izzo.Behind a name which in Swahili means "go forward, continue without giving up" we find a passionate team which, thanks to the choice to embrace responsible fashion, enhances capabilitiesà of the people involved.

The determined and ambitious approach also shines through pay offs – that verbal element that accompanies the logo of a company and summarizes its essence – Dream bold, an exhortation to dream big and not to give in in the face of difficultiesà.These are the wonderful and concrete premises from which the colorful proposals of the Endelea brand are born.

Support for the local economy

Designed in Milan and produced with African fabrics selected by small retailers Dar es Salaam, the clothing and accessories collections are produced by local seamstresses and tailors formed by Endelea.Indeed, among the objectives of the brand is the support of the local micro-economy and the professional training of people who live in an area where fashion is not a driving sector for the economy.

Endelea's commitment to supporting the community certainly could not ignore the knowledge and training of future talents.For this reason, the company has decided to allocate part of the earnings deriving from sales, 3 percent of gross revenues to be precise, to educational projects which include on-site training activities and collaborations between Italian and Tanzanian universities.

The Endelea leaders

The collections of the Italian brand are strongly linked to tradition and therefore to wax, a 100 percent printed fabric cotton omnipresent in Africa, making control of the supply chain however complicated.The African fabrics par excellence, characterized by infinite and colorful fantasies, are selected and purchased in local markets in the quantities available, even to the detriment of production.For this reason, the items made for each variant are limited and sometimes cannot be restocked.For the autumn/winter 2020 collection, a selection of limited edition proposals in quilted wax were presented.A fiber obtained from recycled bottles was used for the padding pet.

The introduction of the kikoi

For the spring/summer 2021 collection the kikoi, a traditional cotton fabric very widespread in African countries, especially in Tanzania.In its traditional version it has a rough hand, colored stripes along the edges, fringes free and wraps around the body like a sarong.

To date, due to high demand, kikoi is produced industrially, however small ones still exist artisan workshops who package it following the long traditional procedures.The production of Endelea kikoi, an organic cotton loom yarn, was entrusted to Mama Kishimbo, a lady at the helm of a small women's cooperative.

Among the commitments for the next collections is the identification of certified African producers for the purchase of fabrics.An important step to ensure greater control and awareness of the supply chain and to contribute to the development of a responsible fashion industry.

An all-round commitment

Respect for the environment and attention to detail are attributes inherent in the DNA of the brand which, for the delivery of the garments, has opted for fabric bags made with waste materials.This is a strategic choice that allows on the one hand the delivery of garments in quality packaging that can be reused by the user, and on the other the reduction of waste and the use of plastic.

For garment tags and paper materials, exclusively FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) certified recycled paper was chosen, while for shipments of garments purchased from e-commerce, compostable bags.

To discover every single nuance of the colorful Endelea reality we invite you to consult the first one sustainability report published online, an interesting report of the initiatives undertaken in 2020 and the objectives for the future, which promises to be very intriguing.