APEC awardee, shares what Folkcharm means for her and those around her.
Lima, Peru | 14 November 2024
Folkcharm is more than just another price tag in Bangkok’s bustling fashion scene. It is a story of empowerment and hope—a living testament to a community’s struggle to be seen and the passion of a person who started it all. That person is Passawee Kodaka, a Thai social development practitioner turned entrepreneur, who believes in sustainability and women’s empowerment.
These values resonate with APEC. Since 2023, APEC has recognized individuals who embody these values and translate them into meaningful action. APEC does this by awarding them the APEC Bio-Circular-Green (BCG) Award, which encourages people to emulate similar initiatives across the region.
Folkcharm is an example of what APEC is promoting. Through this award, APEC recognizes Passawee’s contribution and role in founding Folkcharm as a channel to weave ethical fashion and women’s financial independence into a compelling conversation about expression and meaning. This evolving conversation, shaped jointly by Folkcharm and those around it, advocates for an alternative to the unsustainable practices of fast fashion.
Weaving a new opportunity for women
Founder of Folkcharm Co. Ltd, Passawee Tapasanan Kodaka, is recognized under the women’s category for her pioneering sustainable fashion brand that champions heritage crafts, community empowerment, and environmental consciousness. Folkcharm uses rain-fed cotton, traditional weaving techniques, and a zero-waste production model that incorporates natural dyes and off-cuts, promoting production transparency and
Folkcharm was an idea motivated by Passawee’s encounter with women artisans in Loei, Thailand back in 2014. After interacting closely with the community, she felt their unease and frustration—feelings borne from society’s undervaluation of traditional crafts and decades of financial dependence. The women of Loei are not alone. Many other communities throughout the region face similar challenges because of fast fashion.
Realistically, it is difficult for traditional crafts to outcompete fast fashion brands. Its emphasis on mass production exchanges expression and meaning for a lower price point. But with it comes environmental costs, unfair compensation, and hyper-consumption. For example, a 2017 report by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation highlighted that truckloads of abandoned textiles are dumped in landfills or incinerated every second globally.
Despite the difficulties ahead, Passawee’s close relationship with the Loei community inspired her to challenge this prevailing situation, working with them to create an ethical fashion enterprise founded on active community involvement, strict adherence to circularity, and close relationships with customers. “Conscious Craftswear,” as Passawee affectionately described it.
Read full story on APEC Website here.
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