About Us - Social Fabric

Social Fabric in brief

Social Fabric is a center based in Zurich that supports the human potential of refugees and promotes the use of textiles and clothing that have a small ecological and positive social footprint. We do things differently.

Who or what is Social Fabric exactly?

Social Fabric is an association with an atelier in Zurich and two core focuses: work integration of refugees in Switzerland and sustainability in textile production.

We offer free sewing courses and ‘sprachcafés’ (informal get-togethers with the aim of speaking, listening to and practicing German) to refugees and support their integration in the Swiss job market. Currently, we employ one apprentice with a refugee background. Moreover, a participant in the GEP program (Gemeinnützige Einsatzplätze) works with us. We are always looking to improve and expand our offerings to refugees and are pleased to be able to offer a preliminary apprenticeship (Vorlehre) for the first time in 2019.

We are a community-based organisation that supports the use of textiles and clothing that have a small ecological and positive social footprint. Most of us have lost our connection with how our fabrics and clothing are made, where they come from, and who the makers are. We offer our members and customers an opportunity to re-connect with fabric by providing courses and shared working space, and by offering transparently and sustainably made textile products.

Social Fabric Association is a tax exempt non-profit association that is overseen by a board of directors.

The Challenges

Core focus 1:

Work integration of refugees in Switzerland has much room for improvement. The employment rate of refugees is relatively low and that, in turn, has a negative impact on their integration into Swiss society.

Core focus 2:

The global textile industry is one of the dirtiest and most socially irresponsible industries in the world. There are few textile companies that are disrupting business-as-usual in the textile sector, and that means there are few solutions available to customers who care.

Our Mission

– Social Fabric supports the human potential of refugees in Switzerland and promotes the use of textiles with a positive social and small ecological footprint. –

We give work to the people who really need it, in our case refugees in Switzerland. In collaboration with our clients we deliver products and services that do not harm human beings or the environment. For that purpose we integrate the most sustainable and innovative materials in the supply chains.

Our Vision

– Social Fabric empowers its diverse community to drive economic and social change by engaging in transparent and socially and ecologically sustainable actions. –

Core Values

Respect– we value and care about our team members, partners, suppliers, community members, customers, and the environment
Community– we bring together a group of engaged and motivated people who share our core values, and who care about each other.
Social Impact– we are humanists, and we strive to make a positive contribution to the lives of people we work with.
Sustainability– we believe in developing strong and resilient business practices that support people and communities, and are ecosystem-focussed.
Transparency– we hide nothing. We tell you who our suppliers and partners are, and we admit when things are not perfect.
Design– we strive to develop beautiful products and experiences that people value and appreciate.

How we live our core values

Storytelling – We tell the stories of the members of our community, including refugees, volunteers, employees, customers, suppliers, partners and so forth. And we also involve others in our journey by telling our own story.
Local action, Global impact – We create measurable impact in the communities in which we work.
Collaboration – we work together with our community, including our customers, our suppliers, and our partners, because we are pioneers together.