Emily Lam-Ho is saving the world one fashionable project at a time. The businesswoman and eco-warrior talks to Justine Lee about her latest philanthropic venture, a partnership she forged between a female-focused social enterprise and fashion house Chloé
Emily Lam-Ho was the co-host last month at a sunset cocktail party at Piqniq hosted by Chloé to toast the launch of its spring/summer 2019 collection. Three custom-made ombre hammocks on display caught the attention of guests as they were of the same hues as Chloé’s new line.
The hammocks were produced by a Thailand-based social enterprise called Yellow Leaf Hammocks in collaboration with Chloé in a partnership conceived by Emily through her investment company, Empact28. The company, of which Emily is CEO, funds female entrepreneurs and businesses that empower women, and it has been supporting Yellow Leaf Hammocks since 2016.
The products are now available online through the Yellow Leaf Hammock website, and all proceeds will go towards the social enterprise. We caught up with the philanthropic mother of two to discover the story behind the collaboration.
What attracted you to invest in Yellow Leaf Hammocks?
I’m extremely drawn to companies founded by women with strong social missions and with a focus on sustainability. Yellow Leaf Hammocks checked all the boxes for me. I met the founders, Joe and Rachel, in person in 2018, and I knew immediately that I wanted to get behind the cause.
Yellow Leaf Hammocks is a social enterprise that provides and builds a comprehensive long-term strategy and sustainable change in several impoverished communities in Phrae, Thailand. They teach women how to weave hammocks, which allows them to earn a steady income and ultimately become financially independent.
How did the partnership between Chloé and Yellow Leaf Hammocks come about?
Chloé supported an initiative of EcoDrive [an environmental NGO co-founded by Emily] last November by donating a portion of proceeds from the sales of the limited edition Roy Day handbag. My co-founders and I went to support the event and that’s when we started chatting about other prospective projects.
We decided to partner again this season and to shine a light on another worthy cause. This collaboration felt natural; Chloé is one of the few heritage labels that’s founded by a woman, and to champion a cause that supports the purposeful inclusion of women is in line with the company’s vision.
For this project, mothers from the Yellow Leaf Hammock community created hammocks out of colours inspired by Chloé SS19 tie-dyed T-shirts (pictured below).