AWE Alumna Creates Sustainable Style in Iceland
January 9, 2023
Article by Allie Dalola, intern with the U.S. Department of State, currently studying Business Administration and Economics at the University of North Carolina at Chapel-Hill.
[Reykjavik, January 2023] Academy for Women Entrepreneurs alum Grace Achieng is helping to transform the fashion industry’s impact on the environment through her company, Gracelandic.
“When fashion is done right,” Achieng says, “it can be transformative for the people wearing the clothes and the environment.”
As a “slow fashion” brand, Gracelandic drastically contrasts with large-scale “fast fashion” producers whose main objective is mass, high-speed production. The slow fashion movement promotes greater sustainability by producing higher-quality, eco-friendly clothing that will last longer. As such, Gracelandic employs a more holistic, socially conscious production model that prioritizes a triple bottom line: people, profit, and planet.
For example, Achieng has established a partnership with an ethical producer to supply all of Gracelandic’s fabric. By intentionally manufacturing ethically-produced garments, her company limits overstock and recycles all of its fabric scraps to be remade into accessories.
Achieng also uses her business to promote the slow fashion philosophy to the public, regularly posting on the company's blog and Instagram account to educate customers about the impacts of the fast-fashion industry. Even the garments she sells are designed to reduce waste among consumers.
“Our clothing is high quality and is going to last a long time,” Achieng says. “The styles are timeless, versatile, and easy to style.”
Achieng says that many people do not realize how fast fashion has a devastating impact on climate change and water waste - something she is passionate about because she saw it firsthand as a child. She explains how the fast-fashion industry disproportionately affects developing countries like Kenya, where she grew up.
“The products and materials we dispose of in the West are sent to Africa,” she explains. “This kills independent businesses, and ninety percent of these clothes end up in African landfills."
Her childhood in Kenya started from what she herself describes as “humble beginnings” and drove Achieng to design clothing that promotes sustainability and empowers its wearers.
In fact, Achieng experienced the power of fashion from an early age and it marked her path as an entrepreneur. She recalls as a child in Kenya how she felt when she put on a new dress she received as a gift from her aunt.
“When I wore this dress, I felt so empowered,” Achieng describes. “This is the kind of feeling that I want to sell.”
In 2010, Achieng moved to Iceland, where she pursued her dream of a career in the fashion
world. After much difficulty finding a fashion job, Achieng decided to take matters into her own hands. In 2020, she purchased a sewing machine and went into business for herself with the hopes of designing beautiful garments that give a voice to the women who wear them. AWE’s extensive network helped set Gracelandic up for success.“I feel like it is my life’s mission to help women feel seen and invincible through fashion,” Achieng says. Two years after opening Gracelandic, Achieng participated in the Academy for Women Entrepreneurs (AWE) through U.S. Embassy Reykjavik in which she was equipped with the tools needed to achieve success. For example, Achieng learned the financial skills necessary to run her business and procure funding. “When I started my business, I just blindly walked into my dream,” Achieng says. “AWE helped me to understand my business in a much deeper way.” Beyond practical business skills, Achieng was able to utilize AWE’s extensive network to connect with other women entrepreneurs, learn from talented mentors, and share her story on a larger platform. “I’ve felt so much support,” Achieng says. “I never knew that women could be this supportive of one another.” Since its launch, Gracelandic has grown enormously, which Achieng spoke about recently at the 2022 Woman Impact Summit, a global conference for up-and-coming women entrepreneurs. And her designs have been featured in British Vogue three times in 2022. eliza_reid_in_gracelandic.jpg
Iceland’s Minister for Foreign Affairs, Thordis Kolbrun (pictured center), wears Gracelandic
couture while meeting President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden at UNGA in 2022.Achieng’s personal mission to empower women through what they wear also appears to be gaining traction on the global political stage. When Iceland’s Minister for Foreign Affairs Thordis Kolbrun Reykfjörd Gylfadóttir met with U.S. President Joe Biden during the U.N. General Assembly in New York in September 2022, she wore none other than a Gracelandic design. Iceland’s Minister for Foreign Affairs, Thordis Kolbrun (pictured center), wears Gracelandic couture while meeting President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden at UNGA in 2022. The Academy for Women Entrepreneurs is a women’s empowerment initiative launched by the U.S. Department of State in 2019. Using the DreamBuilder learning platform developed by Arizona State University’s Thunderbird School of Global Management AWE has empowered more than 25,000 women in 100 countries with the knowledge, networks, and access they need to launch and scale successful businesses, including 60 women entrepreneurs in Iceland. For more information about AWE, visit: https://eca.state.gov/awe.
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