At a Glance
Location: Lima, Perú
Impact Area: Labor Inclusion
People Supported:
Inmates/Former Inmates, Urban
Joined NESsT Portfolio:
2020
Overview
Peru is the third country in the world with the highest rate of violence against women. In most cases, women endure violence much longer in the relationship because of their economically and emotional dependence on the aggressor (World Health Organization; INEI, 2017).
Estrafalario produces a line of trendy ethical fashion products sold online and at their stores. The enterprise trains and employs survivors of domestic violence, women who are incarcerated, and low-income single mothers, to create their line of clothing and accessories. To support its employees, Estrafalario provides psychological support to help them overcome the trauma of domestic violence and abusive relationships. The brand not only attracts clients with its high-quality products and aesthetics, but also centers its social impact directly on the design of the clothing highlighting the life-changing experience of the women that the enterprise empowers with training and employment.
Results & Impact
30
women receiving income to date
72
women receiving income by 2021
2
stand alone stores in Peru
“We’ve launched the Conscious Mask 2.0 with three layers. In the first layer, we reuse the leftovers of our blouses, in the second we use anti-fluid lycra and in the third, we use 170 grams of thick poplin fused with “pelón.” The mask is prepared based on the technical standards defined by Minsa, is ergonomic, reversible to white, and washable. Part of the proceeds from this product will go to the purchase of biosafety items for the Chorrillos Annex Prison.”
NESsT Investment
Estrafalario is an early-stage company that is implementing a successful and well-structured model for generating social impact. The enterprise hosts sessions with psychologists, offers empowerment and entrepreneurship workshops for its employees, and partners with prisons to ensure that the women who are incarcerated are formally employed by the company.
Additionally, Estrafalario is committed to countering the negative impact of the fashion industry, which is normally linked to water pollution, textile waste, and deplorable working conditions, including the exploitation of workers' rights. Estrafalrio is committed to an environmentally sustainable value-chain while paying its employees and suppliers fair wages and prices. NESsT sees great potential and commitment by the enterprise to become one of the benchmarks in this industry nationally.
In response to COVID-19, all full-time employees were transitioned into part-time positions to ensure their income, as the company strengthens its e-commerce offerings and pivots to new products, including its new line of masques made from recycled materials. Estrafalrio first introduced the masques to the prison where the women work, to ensure that everyone was safe and that the women could indeed begin producing the masques for a larger market.
NESsT provided working capital to Estrafalario to pay suppliers of the materials used to make its final products. Together, we are exploring new inputs for its products that reduce the dependency on materials that have a complicated logistical process. NESsT is also supporting the enterprise to strengthen its sales and marketing capacity through community engagement with clients from digital sales, while improving its operations, management and impact measurement.
Follow Estrafalario on Instagram!