GET YOUR MASKEY ON!

By J S Khan

The announcement of job losses has become all too familiar over the last few months and, according to the Independent, unemployment in the UK is set to surge to 3.5 million this year.  Some of the UK’s biggest companies such as British Airways, HSBC and John Lewis have been forced to cut thousands of jobs. According to City A.M, UK companies are collectively set to make over 85,000 job cuts due to coronavirus, with over 120,000 roles being cut overall.

Whilst the government’s furlough scheme has helped to ease a UK unemployment spike, and provided businesses with some breathing space, it is predicted that the job loss rate will further surge as furlough ends.  The government is trying its upmost to kick start the recovery of the economy through various initiatives and we will just have to see how this year turns out.

Many existing businesses have been forced to be creative in order to ensure the sustainability of their business model throughout the pandemic and beyond. Whilst the immediate future looks bleak there are new and innovative businesses that have surfaced in the face of adversity and many budding entrepreneurs have come to the fore. None more so than Adam Freeman with his new business that is bucking the trend and creating jobs and opportunities.

I had the pleasure of meeting entrepreneur Adam Freeman (pictured below), CEO and founder of Maskey, who had his eureka moment when trying to find a suitable face mask. On speaking to his friend who owns a suit manufacturing company, Adam realised there was a connection to be made, hence the birth of Maskey.  

The two friends have gone on to repurpose an existing tailoring business in order to launch Maskey, the UK’s first-ever manufacturer to offer fashionable face masks for sale through a contact-less vending machine. Maskey was born in April 2020 and their first Maskey vending machine was set up on the high street in Chigwell outside of a local convenience store. It went live on 10th May 2020, and according to Adam “The response was beyond what we could have expected. Within four days we had exceeded sales forecasts and the first Maskey machine was featured in a full-page article in one of the UK’s leading newspapers.”

The London-based company specialises in washable face coverings and has seen demand grow because of the COVID-19 crisis and the subsequent mandatory face covering on public transport and more recently in shops.

Maskey has created almost 50 new jobs in the last 2 months with a further 20+ planned as demand for the product increases. In addition to this they are currently in the process of building a second mini factory based in London which will create even more jobs. With 50 locations already in place, including Hamleys, they will be opening their fifth shop later this month and have recently signed a distribution deal with WHSmith to supply Maskeys to hundreds of their stores.  In terms of production, Maskey is currently manufacturing 25,000 masks a week from its London factory.

Since the emergence of Maskey, there has been an overwhelming positive media coverage on the company from various tv broadcasters such as the BBC and ITV, and print media including The Huffington Post and the Metro, with further coverage on various radio stations.

Adam comes across as a very unassuming guy, dressed in a black top, jeans and trainers with an air of confidence, but speaking to him it was clear within the first 10 seconds that his mind is working on multiple levels. It was evident that Adam possesses all the characteristics of a brilliant entrepreneur and this is evidenced by other successful businesses that he has set-up in the past.   

I couldn’t help but feel inspired by Adam and his approach towards life and business. It was clear that money was not the motivating factor in this enterprise as Adam stated, “Money is just a by-product of a great idea and hard work”.

MINDFUL FASHION - DO YOUR BIT

By Selina Seesunkur

London Fashion Week went digital last week however like me, many of you will have found that lockdown has meant working from home living in comfy clothes, with the days of hair and makeup a thing of the past. Wearing PJ bottoms whilst on Zoom with a relatively professional top on, whilst hoping that you do not forget and stand up for everyone to see, has become our new normal.

But for others like my youngest sister, makeup goes on no matter what! And her sense of style both in and out of the house is second to none. One thing we all share as people return to work or even continue working from home, is that Covid has given us a chance to reassess our wardrobes.  

According to the UN Conference on Trade and Development, the Fashion Industry is the second biggest polluter in the world, with textile dying being the second biggest polluter of water. Fast Fashion, which is quick and cheap to produce has been said to be a key contributor to a number of the environmental problems faced within this industry today.

But is the answer to simply stop shopping at Primark and H&M? What else can be done to help? 

Repair

Spending more time at home means we can re-assess our wardrobe. How many of you discard an item because there is a hole in the armpit or the hem on your trousers has come loose? Why not try to repair these items yourself or, if you do not know how to sew, find a service which will offer to repair clothes for you. Many will even collect and return the items to you. I generally take mine to my local dry cleaner.

Clothes Swap

Once the Covid restrictions have been relaxed, why not host a clothes swap party with your friends. In my area, the North London Waste Authority (NLWA) runs the scheme Wise Up to Waste and, prior to the Covid restrictions, they hosted several clothes swapping events in our area. In their ‘Wise up to Waste’ brochure they state that “The average household spends £1,700 per year on clothing- if we take a bit more care over our wardrobes, we could save both money and the environment”

Return

If you purchase something and it does not fit, return it! Don’t leave it laying at the bottom of the wardrobe gathering dust, only to buy another item that fits. But if you really want to create some space, shops like John Lewis and H&M offer a buy back service where they ask customers to return old clothes bought from them in return for an amount/ percentage towards another item in that store. Don’t forget you can also sell your wears on eBay or Shpock.

 Second Hand September

It is not too late to join Second Hand September, the idea is to pledge to only shop second hand for 30 days or more. You’ll give clothes a longer life by keeping them from landfill, and by shopping with Oxfam, you’ll be reinvesting your money to help the poorest people on the planet earn a fair living and beat poverty.

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Repurpose 

Finally, think of different ways you can use your clothes or fabrics in your home. At the peak of Covid, people were making scrubs out of old duvet covers and facemasks from scarves.  What can you do? I chopped up a skirt and attempted to make a top! I have not given up improving my sewing skills, it is a lot of fun and I’ll probably try chopping up a few other items in my wardrobe

If you do repurpose your clothes please share your ideas with us on Facebook!

WHERE WILL THE NEXT GOLDEN ERA OF BRITISH FOREIGN RELATIONS SHINE?

By Philippe Lefevre

In 2015, against a backdrop of fish and chips and a traditional British Pub, David Cameron toasted to a new “Golden Era” in UK-China relations. This was to be a harbinger of close economic and social ties as the British government prepared to wheel in European reform and present themselves to the world as a sleek economy accompanied by partners everywhere. Of course, knowing as we do now, this was never going to be as easy as it seems, and whilst the rhetoric of a ‘Global Britain’ has remained strong, UK-China relations have not, and neither has the “Golden Era” mentality of British diplomatic relations. However, British diplomacy must continue to look to new countries and form closer relationships to partners if they are to have any chance of fulfilling the Global Britain ethos or to make any headway in the increasingly fractured international system. The question now becomes, where will the Foreign and Commonwealth, and soon to be Development, office look to?

It is easy to start with the obvious United States as a favourite for a renewed diplomatic era. Boris Johnson has much in common with Donald Trump and, even should the latter be removed, the current government has gambled a lot on a US-UK trade deal to counter the blow of Brexit. Tensions still exist between the two however, from Huawei, to chlorinated chicken, to the killing of Harry Dunn and the NHS, a myriad of smaller and larger issues keeps both sides of the Atlantic restrained in expressing their warm admiration of each other. It does not help that many of the UK’s greatest assets, it’s diplomatic network, development aid, and security focus, are at best complimentary to the US, and at worse a challenge. Doubtless the US and UK will remain steadfast allies in the coming years, but being outside of the EU, and no longer the unsinkable carrier in Europe that the UK once was, could tarnish the “Special Relationship” before it’s even had time to redevelop.

So perhaps let us move to South Africa, Kenya, or Nigeria. Three powerhouses in the vast continent of Africa that past and present Prime Ministers have touted as important and close allies. Boris Johnson has already hosted one of the largest summits with African leaders in London as a testament to his desire to work closer with them. However, if this really is to be the next area to feature heavily in our new Golden Era, then certain obstacles need to be addressed first. British relations with many African countries have been borne of economic necessity to capitalise on their economic booms, and with far less value-driven and properly understood context to the future of UK-African relations. Furthermore, the move to downgrade the British International Development office to be another branch of the FCO takes one of the UK’s biggest and best tools of foreign relations away. Without a renewed approach to African development and diplomacy, a new Golden Era on this vast continent will be impeded.

A further and more obvious move would be to build closer ties with our already steadfast commonwealth allies such as Canada, Australia, Pakistan, or India. India, Canada, and Australia have already featured heavily in new initiatives with the UK, from working against the negative presence of China, to new ideas on migration and trade. India has the biggest chance to become a new “Golden” ally, noting its incredible economic change, recently surpassing the UK in Nominal GDP, and huge potential. Indeed, Dominic Raab recently spoke at India Global week on the incredibly close relations between the two countries during the crisis and through multinational organisations. However, actual trade relations are rather poor between the two countries compared to other commonwealth allies like Australia, New Zealand, or Canada. Both still compete with big sectors such as defence and keep vastly different counsel in their respective regions. Furthermore, there still exists the controversial matter of British actions during the British Raj, which will continue to hamper relations until steps are taken to soothe them.

Lastly, of those other countries currently seeking a stronger audience on the world stage, who would be most amenable to closer ties with the UK? Japan, a country which William Hague once touted as Britain’s closest partner in Asia, has the potential to become a closer ally, sharing an island history and a new role in the International system. Yet their contextual differences could become too much to overcome with simple diplomatic symbolism. Japan’s desire to become more noticeable on the world stage still relies far more heavily with the United States and has little to gain from a closer relationship with the UK. Furthermore, as we’ve seen with current trade negotiations, Japan has few qualms twisting better deals from the UK if it feels it can get them. The UK similarly has not much to gain from closer relations with a country it already considers an ally, and so little is likely to change soon.

There is of course the need to evaluate the many other different countries in the world which the UK might seek to tie stronger relationships with soon. What I wished to do here was to simply lay out some of the debates that must be going on in the minds of senior diplomats concerning how the British diplomatic strategy could work post-Brexit and in favour of a Global Britain. Potentially the ‘Golden Era’ of relations could slip to some unlikely partners, perhaps even inside of the European Union.  All that is certain is that when targeting the entire world with renewed diplomatic vigour, one country must stand out from the rest, and let us hope that the clinking of pint glasses celebrating this won’t be as bittersweet as past pints have sometimes been.

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