Profiles in Corporate Social Responsibility & Sustainability

Dr. Ritika Burman
SGS North America

Ritika has a Ph.D. in Textile Technology Management (North Carolina State University, USA), M.S. in Textile and Clothing (Institute of Home Economics, University of Delhi, India) and B.S. in Home Science (Lady Irwin College, University of Delhi, India).

Yevette Willaert

Tiffany Rogers

MS in Fashion and Apparel Studies and Graduate Certificate in Socially Responsible and Sustainable Apparel Business (2015), BS in Apparel Design (2005).
 
Fair Labor Association, Accountability Associate
 
As Accountability Associate, Tiffany assists with due diligence activities for FLA affiliates, including Participating Companies, Participating Suppliers, and Category B Licensees. Part of her work is with the Accreditation Department, which is responsible for evaluating companies’ compliance programs. The department conducts company assessments and headquarters visits to examine compliance programs and provides feedback to assist companies in maturing their programs. The other part of Tiffany’s assignment is with Accountability where she reviews reports on factory assessments and corrective action plans.  ​
Dr. Ritika Burman is Corporate Responsibility Associate in the Supply Chain Assessment and Solution division of SGS North America in Fairfield, New Jersey. In her current role she provides support to clients in developing their social and security audit programs. Recently she has been closely involved with the Sustainable Apparel Coalition’s Social and Labor Convergence Project and has acquired expertise of different social standards and schemes applicable to the industry. Ritika’ s research interest is in the field of Sustainability and in her  doctoral dissertation she developed a framework that can be used by textile, apparel and footwear industry to measure and report progress towards sustainable development. While pursuing Ph.D. she worked on projects related to different aspects of sustainability for companies based in New Jersey and New York area. She was also the Course Instructor and Teaching Assistant at College of Textiles in North Carolina State University. Prior to joining the Ph.D. program, Ritika spent four years teaching Fabric & Apparel Science to graduate students at University of Delhi and Indraprastha University in India.She was a founding member of a non-profit organization in New York which empowers low-income immigrant women by providing them vocational training.
Yevette is a people and planet-friendly clothing designer.
She believes that socially responsible clothing does not have to be dowdy or off-beat: it can be anything from classic, to glamorous, to wild, to ethereal and dazzling. One has so many resources at their fingertips if they simply look, and then they have the capability to do amazing things. 
Her dream is to help spread fair trade, sustainable clothing all throughout the US; help entire communities become economically independent; give back to those in need; and in turn, assist folks in looking quite dapper.
She takes great pride in her work and hold herself to high standards: She uses eco-friendly and socially responsible materials; She recycle fabrics to give them new life; and employs as many couture techniques as possible. This is her craft, and what rumbles in her heart everyday. And this craft– this pursuit of conscientious fashion– is her means to a beautiful end.
Yevette graduated Magna Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Arts in General Business and Apparel Design, with a minor in Studio Art From St. Catherine University and University of St. Thomas.

Abby Hansen
Founder Aletheia Design

​Aletheia Design + Sewing Service (a-LAY-thee-a) is a small-scale children’s clothing manufacturer dedicated to bridging social conscience and killer style.
We embrace a method of salvaged fabrication, quality construction, and localized production to create unique, one-of-a-kind, ecological garments for children size 6 MO to 3T. All materials (excluding thread, labels, and closures) are reclaimed from cast-off, second hand knits and cleverly recut and collaged into sassy new looks. By utilizing post-consumer goods, the Aletheia brands are not reliant on fibers grown at a high cost to foreign land and human communities, nor the resource-intensive processing of fibers into fabric. This approach to design gathers up the fragments of a wasteful society and transforms them into thoughtful, stylish, and high-quality goods.
By producing close to home, Aletheia Design + Sewing Service ensures that its products are made fairly at high quality standards without added dependence on global transportation systems. We are excited to see a resurgence of domestic (even Minnesotan) manufacturing and seek to grow the business alongside this trend.


Dana Fetch
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​BS in Fashion Merchandising and minor in Business Administration (2010), Graduate Certificate in Socially Responsible and Sustainable Apparel Business (2011).
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F&T Apparel LLC, Social Compliance Assistant

Dana is in charge of evaluating Social Responsibility conditions of over 185 factories in 21 countries.  She communicates directly with factories and vendors to ensure compliance issues are corrected and maintained through the analysis of corrective Action Plans (CAPs) and supporting evidence.  She provides customized services to licensees, brands and major retailers, such as Levi’s, PVH, VF, and Wal-Mart; recommends strategies for factories to improve environmental standards, deter social conflicts, and reduce risk exposure; helps to manage factory and purchase order information of $780 million sales in 2014; and maintains knowledge of updated local/country laws, changes in Corporate Social Responsibility, and the overall sustainability landscape.