Ferragamo’s Ethical Fashion Initiative: Empowering Women Artisan Entrepreneurship in Burkina Faso

Ferragamo has partnered with Ethical Fashion Initiative (EFI), a programme of the International Trade Centre (ITC), the United Nations’ small business agency, to address a critical gap in the artisanal cotton supply chain in West Africa, which has a predominantly female workforce.

The goal of this multi-annual partnership, including the support of the European Union and its OACPS Business Friendly Programme, has been the building of West Africa’s first cotton dyeing factory, in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. The factory, expected to be operational in 2026, will foster the productive capacities for artisans in dyeing, textile production and trade of the Faso Dan Fani, the traditional Burkina Faso cotton fabric. As a result, availability of high-quality, certified, and traceable dyed yarns will increase and boost international market access, especially for the benefit of women artisan communities in the country.

Cotton has a strategic place in the economies of several West African countries, particularly in Burkina Faso, and women play an undeniable role in agriculture, especially in cotton growing – however, their work is widely considered undervalued.

 “Our partnership with Ferragamo to build the first cotton-dying factory of this kind in West Africa – creating jobs and income opportunities for women while bringing visibility to traditional cultural expressions – is an example of private sector-backed sustainable development. It’s not only a socially responsible way to move forward; it’s economically viable,”  says Pamela Coke-Hamilton, ITC’s Executive Director.

According to the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Report, which measures the relative gaps between women and men in four key areas (health, education, the economy and politics), Burkina Faso ranked 120th out of 146 countries in 2024.

Ferragamo’s contribution has been delivered directly on the ground to EFI’s European partner, MANUSA Cooperative Sociale, an Italian social enterprise employing 14 women, 12 of whom are migrants and asylum seekers of various nationalities, mostly from Africa, belonging to vulnerable groups. MANUSA provides development services to CABES GIE (“Commerce et Artisanat Pour le Bien-Etre Social – Groupement d’Interet Economique”), an Economic Interest Group and social enterprise created by EFI as a network of 91 productive entities and 2400 artisans, mostly women, in Burkina Faso, specialized in the artisanal production of handwoven Faso Dan Fani.

“We work with three small dyeing units using certified GOTS dyes and traditional methods. However, the yarns produced face quality issues such as entanglement, lack of uniformity, and disgorgement, leading to frequent rejections. The new factory will address these issues, enabling us to pass quality control tests at CABES and with international customers’ laboratories,” Farida Ballo, CABES Dyeing Manager, states

The main services provided through Ferragamo’s donation have been the provision of machinery imported from Italy, textile engineering consulting and supplementary equipment for the new textile dye factory of 1,350 square metres, which is almost the size of six tennis courts. The plant will produce around 24 tonnes of dyed yarns annually and create approximately 80 both direct and indirect jobs for weavers, dyed yarn resellers, biomass collectors, transporters and handlers, textile technicians and engineers, among others. Efforts are also underway to enhance the plant’s environmental efficiency.

Another service provided by MANUSA, thanks to Ferragamo’s contribution, has been the manufacturing of around 400 home decoration cushions using the cotton fabrics produced by CABES to be sold online under the EFI network artisans’ brand ‘Hands of Fashion’ which will be launched in 2025.

 “Our support for EFI’s project in Burkina Faso stems from a deep belief in empowering women, fostering their independence, and creating pathways to reduce poverty and gender inequality. This initiative reflects Ferragamo’s enduring dedication to advancing women’s rights and promoting social responsibility within communities,” says Chairman Leonardo Ferragamo.

This commitment resonates profoundly with the legacy of Wanda Ferragamo, whose visionary leadership and resilience transformed the company after the early passing of her husband, Salvatore. Her example cemented a core value of the brand: a steadfast belief in the transformative potential of women to shape brighter futures. Today, this legacy is reflected in Ferragamo’s emphasis on Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging (DEI&B), which stands as a cornerstone of its strategic sustainability plan.