Fashion Act Now

What Fashion Act Now does

Fashion Act Now (FAN) is a UK-registered activist non-profit operating under Fashion Dreamscape Ltd, founded in 2020 by Sara Arnold, Bel Jacobs, Alice Wilby, and Martina Sorghi as a spin-out of Extinction Rebellion's Fashion Action group. The organization advocates for 'defashion' — a planned reduction of the industrial fashion system within planetary boundaries — and operates programs spanning open letters during Paris Fashion Week, Defashion Talks at universities (London College of Fashion, Central Saint Martins, Istituto Marangoni among others), the Defashion Dorset rural-makers event, documentary films profiling indigenous weavers in sacrifice zones, and People's Assemblies on a fashion commons. Its core product is OurCommon.Market, a digital marketplace intended to connect community-led clothing projects globally, with a current focus on onboarding UK communities and planned expansion to Europe and beyond. The technical foundation is a Wix-hosted website with no disclosed proprietary platform, API, or AI components; discovery and participation are intended to be community-driven rather than algorithmically mediated.

The organization has no paying customers in a conventional sense. Revenue is grant-dependent and modest: £11,000 raised via crowdfunding in 2020, a €28,000 grant from the European Cultural Foundation's Culture of Solidarity Fund in November 2023, and a £2,500 grant from The Naturesave Trust in December 2023. Go-to-market is community-led: grassroots organizing, public education campaigns, events, workshops, and digital content targeting fashion activists, degrowth advocates, and community-based clothing makers. Distribution channels are organic social (Twitter, Instagram, YouTube), earned media in Vogue and Vogue Business, podcast appearances (Wardrobe Crisis, Frontiers of Commoning), and direct outreach to academic institutions. The membership offering ('Join FAN') exists but no pricing tier is publicly disclosed.

Name

Fashion Act Now

Legal name

Fashion Dreamscape Ltd

Website

https://fashionactnow.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2020

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Fashion Act Now is a UK-based non-profit activist organization founded in 2020 that advocates for 'defashion' and operates OurCommon.Market, a community-led marketplace connecting grassroots clothing commons globally, funded by grants and crowdfunding.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Fashion Activism and Sustainability Advocacy

NAICS

Clothing and Clothing Accessories Retailers (45811)

SIC

Retail-Apparel & Accessory Stores (5600)

akta.pro primary industry

Fashion & Accessories Marketplaces (CRAFABAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

Sustainable/Ethical Shopping & Capsule Wardrobe Building (HSACAJAL)

Keywords

• Fashion activism
• Sustainable fashion advocacy
• Degrowth education
• Clothing commons
• Community organizing

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Grant Funding: Fashion Act Now receives grant funding from foundations and cultural organizations to support their activism and project development, including their OurCommon.Market initiative.
2. Crowdfunding: The organization raised £11,000 via crowdfunding in 2020 to kickstart Fashion Act Now.
3. Membership Dues: The organization offers a 'Join FAN' membership option through their website, suggesting membership fees as a potential revenue stream.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Fashion Act Now is a volunteer activist community that campaigns against the industrial fashion system and promotes 'defashion' alternatives through public education, events, talks, and digital content. Its flagship initiative is OurCommon.Market, a digital marketplace that connects community-led clothing projects from around the globe so participants can discover non-extractive, commons-based clothing systems. Revenue is generated through grants, crowdfunding, and membership support, not through the sale of fashion products.

Product overview

Fashion Act Now is a volunteer activist community focused on 'defashion' - liberating clothing culture from the domination of the industrial Fashion system. Their core initiative is OurCommon.Market, a digital platform and marketplace for community-led fashion projects. They supplement their platform with Defashion Dorset events celebrating local makers, Fashion Commons Assemblies for deliberative community engagement, documentary films profiling indigenous weavers, and educational Defashion Talks. The organization advocates for alternatives to industrial fashion through community participation rather than purchase.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• OurCommon.Market A grassroots digital marketplace and platform that connects community-led fashion projects from around the globe, enabling community participation through events, workshops, and meetups rather than purchase.
• Defashion Dorset A celebration of rural makers reclaiming clothing culture from big industry, held at Hawker's Farm in Dorset, bringing together local farmers, fibre producers, clothing makers, and climate activists for collaborative discussion, learning, and action.
• Fashion Commons Assemblies People's Assemblies hosted via OurCommon.Market that bring together experts and participants to deliberate on collective action supporting community-based non-extractive clothing systems.
• Defashion Documentary Series Film documentaries profiling indigenous weavers from sacrifice zones of fashion, including 'Uli's Voice' featuring Uli Panggabean from North Sumatra, Indonesia, and 'Matico's Voice' featuring Matico Lema from Peguche, Ecuador, highlighting alternative clothing systems and the impact of industrial fashion.
• Defashion Talks Educational talks on defashion, degrowth, decolonisation, and the fashion commons, available for hosting by community groups, universities, and organizations, delivered by FAN ambassadors and co-founders.
• FAN Membership (Join FAN) Membership offering through the website for individuals who want to support Fashion Act Now's mission and community of activists transforming fashion culture and economy towards wellbeing rather than growth.

Quantifiable outcome

• Funded €28,000 from European Cultural Foundation for OurCommon.Market development
• +2 more outcomes

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Wellbeing Economy AlliancecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFashion Act Now is a member of WeAll (Wellbeing Economy Alliance), aligning with their mission to transform the economy to one that focuses on wellbeing rather than growth.
• Extinction RebellioncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFashion Act Now originated as a project within Extinction Rebellion's Fashion Action group, which ran 'Cancel Fashion Week' and 'Boycott Fashion' campaigns. FAN continues as an ally and collaborator with XR.
• State of FashionminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAlly and collaborator. FAN presented at the State of Fashion Biennale in Arnhem, Netherlands in June 2022.
• RCDF (Research Center for Fashion)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAlly and collaborator in fashion research and defashion education.
• David BolliercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAdvisor, ally and collaborator. Author, activist and consultant who has spent 20 years exploring the commons. Hosted FAN members on his 'Frontiers of Commoning' podcast and participated in FAN's panel on alternative futures.
• Islington Climate CentreminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAlly and collaborator. FAN held a launch event at Islington Climate Centre for Sandra Niessen's chapter 'Defining Defashion' in the Routledge Handbook of Degrowth.
• Cobbled GoodsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAlly and collaborator in the fashion commons movement.
• Defashion DorsetminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerInitiative led by FAN member Jenny Morisetti to explore local clothing culture and showcase local fibre producers and makers in Dorset. FAN members participated as speakers.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Remake: Fashion activism non-profit focused on garment worker justice and conscious consumerism, with a community of ambassadors and storytellers. Closely comparable advocacy, education, and community-organizing approach.
• Fashion Revolution: Global fashion activism movement running the #WhoMadeMyFashion campaign and advocating for systemic change in the fashion industry. Closely comparable mission and community-led organizing model to Fashion Act Now's defashion advocacy.
• The OR Foundation: Non-profit research and advocacy organization focused on fashion's waste crisis and post-growth alternatives, including the Orsola de Castro-led 'Loved Clothes Last' campaign. Comparable radical sustainability and degrowth framing.
• The Slow Factory Foundation: Non-profit using education, media, and community programming to advance climate justice and sustainable material culture, including in fashion. Comparable activist, education-first, and community-led approach.
• Labour Behind the Label: UK-based campaign organization advocating for garment workers' rights and systemic reform of the fashion supply chain. Comparable UK-rooted activist positioning and supply-chain critique.

Emerging players

• Vestiaire Collective: Global resale marketplace for pre-owned luxury and fashion items, founded in Paris. Comparable marketplace model for circular fashion, though transactional rather than community-commons oriented.
• Good On You: Fashion sustainability ratings and discovery platform for ethical brands. Comparable mission of shifting consumer behavior toward better fashion choices, though commercially-oriented rather than activist.

Broad incumbents

• Ellen MacArthur Foundation (Make Fashion Circular): Foundation promoting circular economy principles including in textiles and fashion through policy, business, and education programs. Comparable systemic fashion-reform agenda and convening power.
• Extinction Rebellion: Parent organization of FAN's originating Fashion Action group; broader climate activism movement of which FAN was initially a project. Comparable activist DNA and disruptive campaign approach.
• Sustainable Apparel Coalition: Industry coalition producing the Higg Index tools for sustainability measurement across the apparel sector. Comparable industry-reform positioning, though working with rather than against incumbents.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/fashionactnow
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCuAFWBbj6qvACqHyFXpx9-Q
• Instagraminstagram.com/fashion_act_now
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/fashion-act-now

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Fashion Act Now