Alyssa D. Benjamin

EF NEAREST AND DEAREST HOLIDAY MARKET

DATE: DECEMBER 14 2016

At EILEEN FISHER, investing in local communities is a brand value and a component of "business as a movement," (wherein businesses are a source of good in the world) so, on behalf of the brand, Alyssa co-produced a local, community-based holiday market to highlight local makers and artisans that aim to build a better world for all. 

VENDORS: Alyssa asked EF employees to source vendors by reaching out to their networks of talented friends, co-workers, family, and neighbors. Each vendor was required to have a sustainable or ethical element that was integral to the core of their business.

• EILEEN FISHER's Take Back Program
• Arc Objects
• Alex Collins
• Alder New York
• Blair Lauren Brown
• The Brave Collection
• Brooklyn Woodwork
• Emily Isabella
• Lesley Ash
• Little Niak
• Melissa Joy Manning
• TM1985
• Zero Waste Daniel

MARKETING STRATEGY: EILEEN FISHER employees used social media and word-of-mouth to leverage their personal networks.

CHARITY PARTNER: EILEEN FISHER partnered with The Women's Earth Alliance, a non-profit that empowers groups of women in 18 countries to lead environmental and entrepreneurship projects that advance safe water, clean energy, regenerative farming, women’s land rights, and more. EF matched each of the vendor fees and donated the total to the organization. In addition, some vendors chose to donate an additional 10% of their sales from the market to the non-profit. 

SUSTAINABLE ELEMENTS: In exchange for a $5 donation to the Women's Earth Alliance, guests could have their gifts wrapped with scraps of EILEEN FISHER fabric in the Furoshiki technique, a traditional Japanese method for wrapping gifts. Vendors were also asked to refrain from bringing excess gift packaging materials to cut down on waste.