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hello welcome back to the search for a new project and to another episode of digi discussions which is a series of online discussions i'm hosting to elevate circular fashion conversation by offering insight from innovative circular economy and fashion pioneers i really need to find a way to shorten that sentence out of breath you may or may not have noticed i have taken some time away from circling you um for a couple of reasons firstly i have to finish my master's degree which i finished in october after finishing my degree my body and my mind really just needed um to recover so i've allowed myself pretty much two months off to let that happen um to recover from the stress and the intensity of doing a master's degree during a pandemic i've also chopped my hair off and fancied a bit of a change to mark the end of my student era and i've just been decluttering my room as well because it got very neglected whilst i was finishing my masters and i believe that a decluttered room is a decluttered mind however as the major circular fashion advocate that i am it's really nice to be back today with another um first post unique digi discussion episode today i'm really excited to be welcoming the co-founder and ceo of fun fair esther 9. esther has worked for many high street and designer brands including vivian westwood working her way up to buy a level before making the decision to directly address some of the glaring issues in the fashion industry by combining industry expertise with a desire to promote sustainable fashion with eco-conscious practices and with that esther launched fanfare a british sustainable fashion band band brand that sets out to create powerful positive change in the fashion industry which heaven knows it really doesn't work needs fanfare state on their website that good design means circularity quality clothes that last are seasonless and forward thinking which is just like tick tick tick so yeah very excited to share today's video with you with esther um i hope you enjoy watching it [Music] hi how are you thank you how are you i'm good thank you i was just emailing you like oh my gosh i hope she can find the link okay yeah sorry i'm a bit behind this morning that's absolutely fine you're lovely by the way oh thank you i am i've got quite a few uh zoom sessions today so i actually put makeup on this is the first time i put makeup on in like weeks and it makes you feel so much better about yourself doesn't it when you just put yeah oh bless you are you almost ready for christmas yeah i think so i'm gonna try and have some time off so i'll break up on friday and then and then yeah see how it goes oh bless you well i've been thinking about you yeah i've got um a couple of small presents but all my main stuff is done which is really good um done it all pretty much online because obviously can't go anywhere so yeah pretty much there and i'm going to wind down as well i finished work on friday and i'm actually going to have two weeks off which is really nice so looking forward to that um so i'm really really excited to actually get to speak with you today um to learn more about your career learn more about what you've done in the fashion industry and obviously fun fair as well um and how fanfare is sort of making circular fashion concepts a reality so thank you so much for giving me your time today esther no it's fine don't worry about it um so would we be able to start with you telling me a bit more about yourself and what it is that you do yeah of course so i'm the founder of fanfare label so funfair label is a sustainable women's wear clothing brand we've been trading around two years now so we're still technically a start-up um but yeah it's it's going well and we create um our collections are split 50-50 so half our collection is recycled we take clothing and textile wastage that would have gone to landfill and repurpose it into new mater into new garments and then the other half is using certified sustainable fabrics so a mixture of got certified organic cotton and blue sign and other um chemical free fabrics as well well the work you're doing right is is really incredible um prior to fanfare what was your career path that sort of led up to that so i've worked in the fashion industry for probably over 10 years now and i used to be a buyer um so um i've worked for quite a few different high street brands as well as designer brands and um and then i moved to vivian westwood before starting up fanfare and and my career really has taken me along the sustainability journey because you can't be a buyer without seeing um the unethical practices first hand really and actually working as a buyer you're contributing to them so i just decided that actually i'm going to use my my experience and my um kind of sphere of influence to actually and bring positive change rather than go along as business as usual that was actually really harmful and so yeah that's that's where it's taken me so with your role as a buyer then what kind of things did you see that motivated you to want to start fanfare what were some really like impactful things well it was my first job outside of uni really that i realized how unethical the whole fashion industry was but i i also couldn't believe that everyone was just going along with it and actually just carrying on and so it really took the step to be kind of counter um sorry what's word um counter cultural so actually just going against the norm because i i couldn't believe it as a university student just graduated that i was seeing the problems and i was the only one doing anything about it so i am the the whole industry i obviously tried to bring positive impact into where i was working as well it's not just a case of oh i'll just leave immediately because it's not it's not ethical and it's not good and we're not doing good things well actually at first you need to try and change it and that's what i wanted to do and i also i needed to build my credibility up a bit as well because no one's going to take a university graduate seriously actually it's it's not until you're at the higher levels and of and being a buyer that people start listening to you and that's where you can bring change so i i mean where to start with regards to the unethical practices it wasn't until i moved to vivian westwood that i started to realize about the environment because she's obviously a massive campaigner for um climate anti-climate change and bring it and really brings um to life why and the environment is so important so it wasn't until i moved there that i started to realize that so it was in high street fashion that really just saw the people exploitation so buyers are trained to hit margin targets no matter what the cost is to people in the environment so we i'm the one that's on the phone to suppliers when they're still at work at 3am in the morning i'm pushing um for cost price production after cost price reduction knowing it's not going to impact me as a brand it's not going to impact probably the factories but it's going to impact the workers and this is where the problems happen because corners are cut and health and safety measures do not exist and given the amount of chemicals and harmful materials that our clothing is made out of to not provide health and safety measures means that people are dying that is the that is the plain simple fact and buyers pick the factories they pick the fabrics they develop the collections they're responsible for everything they see in the store so actually you have a direct impact being a buyer but that being that being said um obviously and whilst working in industry i tried to bring in as many ethical practices as i could i probably would have moved to a business that was um sustainable if there was one but there wasn't back then we're talking about seven years ago and um and it was just it was just a choice to set up fanfare that actually rather than leave the industry i want to provide an answer i want to bring attention to why this is a problem but also provide a solution and an alternative because we still love fashion then and we still want to look good we still want to wear stylish clothing but it shouldn't come at a cost to people or the environment and actually without brands like fanfare label there wouldn't be an alternative and i actually think that the brands that are available at the heist on the high street and i'm talking designer brands as well they've had their chance they've proved that their profit focused mentality is what drives their business they don't care about people otherwise they would have been doing it from day one if i could spot it as a graduate they know what's going on and i just think it's time for like a revolution with regards to the fashion industry because there's so much potential to make it a positive impact on society as well as on the environment i absolutely agree with everything you've just said and it's crazy to think that um environmental and human disregard is accepted as the normal practice so like work that you're doing which is challenging that norm is so important um overall though how do you think the fashion industry's response um to growing consumer demand for sustainable fashion has been do you think there has been a big response i mean yeah but but you've got to look at the motivation like i yes they have because consumers are wanting it i'm just going to shut this door because it's really annoying i'm not in my own home i've actually come home for christmas so i'm just trying to find a place where it has the best wi-fi um yeah so um yeah but you've got to look at their motivation i'm sorry just because it's become popular then you start sorting your supply chains out it's just not acceptable and you should be you should have been doing this from day one and building responsible operations and not using green washing because although it's going to take it's going to take them years decades to sort out their supply chain because their whole their business models were set on creating cheap clothing as fast as possible or even designer clothing because you've got design clothing um in the same factories as uh as high street clothing but actually they they were just set up for cheap cheap cheap so how are they gonna undo that they could they can't physically afford to sell product at the same prices and consider people in the environment so um i mean yes it's great that people are changing their operations but and it needs to happen it really does but i think that as customers and consumers we need to be supporting the right people with the right motivations and that means that there's a new opportunity for sustainable brands smaller sustainable brands that have the right intentions and that if they could grow it would it would cause the positive impact on society that we need yeah and of course i think um even comes down to challenging the business model even designer brands and that are still working on a linear business model so things they make are not designed to be repurposed which brings us obviously then into the circular fashion economy and how do you think that fanfare aligns with the circular fashion economy that's right and it's open again now and so the yeah the circular fashion and common economy we not not we as in fanfare label p brands create clothing and they don't think of their end of life so we think oh we're gonna throw something away well let's throw it away don't want it anymore i'll give it to his charity shop that's good what people don't understand is there is no away like it doesn't go anywhere and if your products are made from synthetic fibers so things that are man-made rather than natural so polyesters things like that they do not biodegrade they're literally made from plastics and petrol and this is why we've it they're actually so bad for our skin and so bad for our bodies this we use so many harmful chemicals we care about what's in our food and not eating processed food and all of that but we don't actually consider what's on our body and so these fibers don't break down which means that they are there forever and so we can't and that's how brands um produce cheap clothing is that um you can obviously get that that kind of fabric for a lot cheaper than um the natural fibers so even when it comes to the composition people need to be looking at the labels so if i've got something that i see in a high street brand and it's um 60 cotton 40 polyester or polyamate or viscose or whatever or even if it's 60 organic cotton and 40 polyester and whatever you can't that's still it makes the cotton and the organic cotton irrelevant because you can't actually extract the fibers from each other and then recycle the organic cotton and recycle the poly maid so it's really hard and to actually shop um naturally to shop with them in regards to and so it's really hard to actually um so when we're making these purchase decisions we need to consider all of these things so actually at farm fair label we use um obviously organic cotton and and it's all got certified which means they can biodegrade and we can recycle it at end of life we also use 100 compositions so that again it can be it can be biodegrade we don't need to extract fibers in the in the situations where we don't where it's different fabrications it's because it's recycled so we take um clothing and textile wastage so we take wastage from other brands and repurpose it into new garments because it's already created it's already there we don't actually need new anymore we need to use up what's already there and so that's what we try and do with our 50 uh recycle collection as well so it's all about this mentality of not throwing things away buying to last um making sure that we cherish what we're wearing and we keep it and we like the things that uh that i value most of my wardrobe are the ones that i'll pass down to generations i'll like i've got some of my grandma's clothing in my wardrobe this is my girlfriend's tub yeah and when it's and when it's made from good quality when it's made from good quality materials in in the right way we cherish it more we want it more and we're more likely to pass it down and it's not a throwaway item that we buy to chuck and we just need to get rid of that mentality i think yeah i agree a lot of it comes down to um consumer awareness as well but with circular fashion being overall a new concept it's not as widely known amongst um consumers sort of um thought process so i am curious to know do you lead your marketing with circular terminology or do you stick to more familiar terms like sustainable and ethical where consumers will understand what that means yeah and i think we stick to the more conventional sustainable ethical i think there's a lot that needs to be done on our marketing communications because we are um we are a small startup brand um and it's it takes a lot when we're currently building our sustainability pages on our website so we can give all the information to the customers and things like that but um but i think that i mean i'm not afraid of using circular terminology i think that i just need to explain it a bit more and that's what we're working on on the website at the moment to be able to have real informative pages about what each aspect means yeah i love that and there is a concern as well that brands and i know h m recently launched a circular collection which i was just like face palm into and it was all with like plastic fibers and everything it was like it's it's green washing basically um to label yourself as such so yeah consumer education is really important um who would you say the fanfare customer and audience is at present um well anyone who likes the clothing i think fanfare was created because um to offer a cool stylish alternative to sustainable fashion there's a lot of places out there that you can get and like your basics your jumpers your t-shirts and exercise wear that is sustainable but actually your everyday stylish clothing we still want to look good our tastes don't go overnight because we care start caring about people in the environment so that is where fanfare is for those people that um want a bit more uniqueness don't want fed up of high street fashion want to look different from everybody else and want to keep that contemporary cool look but also and that cares about where their fashion is made and how yeah because it's not just beige and hemp pants anymore there is actually trendy sustainable options out there and what would you say to critique that ethical and sustainable fashion is um overpriced or less accessible i think it's because we've got a warped opinion on how much fashion costs you cannot possibly produce a garment that is um sustainable for cheap because you've got to pay people fairly you the fashion goes through so many stages i just say to everybody who says that that if i sat down and made them make a shirt then they would understand why it cost so much because it takes so much time you've got to create your fiber in the first place you've got to spin so it creates the fabrication you've got to cut and sew you've got a diet you've got it goes through so many stages then you've got to pay the person to make it then you've got to ship it then you've got to add on your v80 and we just we've lost the value of how much things cost and i think that what i would what i would say yes it is it is more expensive but actually if you it's better to invest in one piece that is more expensive that you're going to keep it's going to last it's good quality it's going to you get you can style it multiple ways because it's seasonless it's not chasing micro trends then you're investing in that one piece that lasts longer and then if you add up all those cl that clothing that you would have bought to just keep up with uh trends and disposable clothing then you've you actually have saved money in the long run so it's about it's about what vivienne westwood says choose well make it last because actually by investing in that one piece that is more expensive it does last you longer it is more relevant designers a good designer means that we can predict fashion five years in advance so um buy pieces that are well thought out and that will it will last you longer that is some top advice yeah i'm that was fully my mantra as well um i've seen on your website that you have collaborative partnerships with a21 campaign and freeset global and working towards ending exploitation and abolishing slavery in the supply chain so could you explain more about those partnerships yeah yeah exactly um so um we work with um human trafficking charities to eradicate slavery from fashion supply chains so they're not solely focused on fashion they're focused in slavery in general and actually there's um more slaves in the world today than ever before in history so it is such such a key issue at the moment that we need to be sorting and fashion contributes to that that is the reality and when i found out that information i used to do a lot of work for a21 before whilst i was at uni and then i found out that fashion was contributing to it it was kind of the cherry on top for me that right i'm out we need to do something about this and we need to use our i you need to use my experience to offer help when approaching all these slavery charities about what i can do it all comes down to finance and support and to fuel their good works that they do so i thought well i'm going to create a business that helps these charities financially to raise awareness to advocate on behalf of them and to and to really support their causes so we work with international justice mission mainly that's our key charity and their mantra is to end slavery in their lifetime they um they're so proactive um on the ground and and if you look at their website um it's week after week it's um however many people being rescued across all different industries um and along the lines of sex trafficking but also in um in factories supply chains they've i think they recently raided a silk factory where they found um children and women that were slaves um making silk and and there's so many cases of these underground factories where where people are slaves that um that these these charities are just doing excellent work to to to rescue these people so so yeah we um we jump on board um international missions uh campaigns and they have match funding campaigns so we help them with that we often do events for them to raise money for them and and give financially to them as well during these campaigns and but but yeah just just to give a few facts this isn't related to slavery but actually um it just shows how much of a issue fashion is and actually 300 000 cotton farmers in india alone have committed suicide because of the pressure on the cotton industry and that's actually caused the largest wave of suicides in history a recent um fire in bangladesh a recent factory disaster we haven't seen to have a factory disaster in bangladesh um monthly at this rate it's it's crazy but a recent a recent one was that um a building in bangladesh caught fire and workers were forced to carry on working despite the fire for a company that turns over 36 million dollars a year now this is just crazy and we think that it isn't on our doorstep and we have the recent leicester scandal where there's slaves in leicester and during german covid and um and there's over 700 factories in leicester and we've seen that some are being paid over 25 being paid three pound fifty per hour or they're slaves and what what does this say about the value of fashion the only way we can get cheap is by just exploiting and it's just not acceptable no it's um mad i think there's just this whole hidden side of the industry to consumers and the leicester one really touched home for me because i'm from leicester so i'm actually in leicester now um and it's one of those things that people just can't fathom happening on their doorstep but it doesn't matter where it's happening it shouldn't be happening full stop um so the work you're doing is is so so important um to what extent would you say obviously we've had the huge amplification of the black lives matters movement this year and do you think this has helped to bring awareness to exploitations of um bipod communities throughout the fashion industry yeah i mean it has brought awareness and but i'd say there's just still so much work to be done and and this is only just the start and with obviously the black lives matter movement has um shown a light on the fact that indigenous communities and people of color um have been and are being exploited within the fashion industry but it's just going to take so it's just going to be a like it's just going to take so much for this mass change to happen like going back to what i said before fashion and supply chains are going to have to completely revamp and they're going to have to change everything about their business model to ensure that no one is exploited and it will take a lot of infrastructure because their businesses were built on getting cheap quick and getting cheap clothing quickly and it unfortunately means that there is a cost to people uh corners are caught health and safety um measures aren't in place people worked working in until dawn until dusk and their conditions are absolutely so unhumane and then we said about um all the slavery aspects as well so i mean it's a it's just the start and this there's so much more that needs to be done and and that sustainability is is should be um driving the way for that change to happen yeah and i believe um for me i believe the change actually is going to happen with small and medium enterprises and brands i don't think big corporations are where we should be looking to for the answers because like you've pointed out earlier they've had all this time to change if their interests aren't aren't in that their interests are in profit so um i think collaboration and small and medium brands are going to be the pioneers in this movement just like your one and obviously your work is being recognized because congratulations featuring at london fashion week this year that is incredible um obviously pandemic going on not usual circumstances so um what was your involvement with the event like how did it sort of happen um yeah uh just going back to that point what you just said about and they're paving the way for um small businesses i think that's exactly it i i mean my personal opinion i don't trust them i think it's time for them to move aside and for people with the right intentions that want to bring positive change and um to be companies that benefit people in the environment need to fill that gap because there's more trust because we've been set out the right motivations but yeah london fashion week was great and we it was we were it was such a privilege to be featured so it was except september 2020. they just had a digital um fashion week so there wasn't really any events i think the big brands still had their virtual catwalks and things like that and but we we as a small brand we don't have budget to do that um so i think february is going to be pretty similar to be honest where the bigger brands will have their virtual um shows and maybe social distance shows but in terms of like the exhibitions and things that they're not on unfortunately because of um covid which is a shame because we um we were part of their positive fashion initiative but online and so it would have been good to be there in person as well but but what can you do and so so yeah we it our collection was viewable on their digital uh platform we're part of their positive fashion feature and and it was great it was great to show the collection and and just just gain some brand awareness uh because because yeah it's it's with people's support and and things that we're able to grow it's really exciting it must have felt like quite a milestone for you having grown your little baby into a proper business and everything so yeah yeah it was great oh so last question for you a bit of a biggie what impact would you like to have on the fashion industry i guess both individually and with through fanfare as well yeah well i think that we we've covered some of it where um actually i just want to make sure that everything i do benefits and people um and the environment because i'm i'm not prepared to contribute to something negatively and i i want to use my abilities to bring change where change needs to happen so the more we grow the more we can support our charity initiatives that we've spoken about our slavery initiatives as well the more we can use our platform to educate people on sustainability because it's really hard to not make people feel guilty i don't want people to feel guilty um for not shopping sustainably or not supporting sustainable brands i want to i want to inform people tell them the hard facts but also encourage better behavior not better encourage um people to to consider where their um purchases and the impact of their purchases so i really want to use our platform as an advocate of change and so where people can go to find resources to understand um sustainability further and use it as a stepping stone i'm not here to condemn or or make people feel guilty about everything i'm here as an alternative to encourage and to inspire and so that together we can change this industry and i do i want to see um the industry changed by what we do because um if i can show that we can do um business sustainably where we're protecting people in the environment then that'll inspire others to do the same and i just think that we need to really value um profit creativity the environment and people all in equal measure because fashion it's a 3 trillion a year industry we've seen that a lot of our products are produced um in indigenous communities and at the other side of the world so why not why can't we bring positive change to that why can't we pay fairly um and and we can use a fashion as a vehicle to eradicate poverty or advocate slavery and and to just bring huge positive change to the industry and and that's really what i wanted to see it done it it has huge potential it just we need the right people doing it really yeah i wholeheartedly believe as well that your brand is helping pioneer and shape the way for a better fashion future like really everything that you do and you're about so yeah love that thank you so much esther for giving me your time today and sharing more about what you do it's been so insightful really has no problem at all it's been an absolute pleasure to speak to you and i hope you have a great christmas i hope you do too take care enjoy the rest of your zoom calls today yeah we'll do see you later bye bye esther 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