Passawee Kodaka on Folkcharm: A Quest for Expression and Meaning in a World Dressed in Fast Fashion
Thai social development practitioner turned entrepreneur, and now APEC awardee, shares what her ethical fashion enterprise, Folkcharm, means for her and those around her.
Folkcharm is more than just another price tag in Bangkok’s bustling fashion scene. It is a story of empowerment and hope—a living testament to a community’s struggle to be seen and the passion of a person who started it all. That person is Passawee Kodaka, a Thai social development practitioner turned entrepreneur, who believes in sustainability and women’s empowerment.
These values resonate with APEC. Since 2023, APEC has recognized individuals who embody these values and translate them into meaningful action. APEC does this by awarding them the APEC Bio-Circular-Green (BCG) Award, which encourages people to emulate similar initiatives across the region.
Folkcharm is an example of what APEC is promoting. Through this award, APEC recognizes Passawee’s contribution and role in founding Folkcharm as a channel to weave ethical fashion and women’s financial independence into a compelling conversation about expression and meaning. This evolving conversation, shaped jointly by Folkcharm and those around it, advocates for an alternative to the unsustainable practices of fast fashion.
Weaving a new opportunity for women
Folkcharm was an idea motivated by Passawee’s encounter with women artisans in Loei, Thailand back in 2014. After interacting closely with the community, she felt their unease and frustration—feelings borne from society’s undervaluation of traditional crafts and decades of financial dependence. The women of Loei are not alone. Many other communities throughout the region face similar challenges because of fast fashion.
Realistically, it is difficult for traditional crafts to outcompete fast fashion brands. Its emphasis on mass production exchanges expression and meaning for a lower price point. But with it comes environmental costs, unfair compensation, and hyper-consumption. For example, a 2017 report by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation highlighted that truckloads of abandoned textiles are dumped in landfills or incinerated every second globally.
Despite the difficulties ahead, Passawee’s close relationship with the Loei community inspired her to challenge this prevailing situation, working with them to create an ethical fashion enterprise founded on active community involvement, strict adherence to circularity, and close relationships with customers. “Conscious Craftswear,” as Passawee affectionately described it.
Through the hands of weavers and tailors
Passawee knew that the Loei artisans had a strength that fast fashion could not outcompete: art that has identity and heritage. “Two people spinning the yarn, two different textures,” Passawee explained. She goes on to share that one of their weavers, Grandma Ekaporn, enjoys teaching the craft of hand spinning cotton yarn to her granddaughter, Mai—an activity that strengthens their bond and connection. Each piece of fabric that passes through weavers like Grandma Ekaporn and Mai becomes a unique story that carries significant cultural and social significance.
This story is complemented by Folkcharm’s strict adherence to circularity principles like transparency and traceability. Unlike fast fashion brands, Folkcharm uses rain-fed, chemical-free and locally sourced cotton. This production choice is impactful when comparing with fast fashion’s environmental footprint that uses plastic materials and consumes the equivalent of 86 million Olympic-sized swimming pools annually.
To keep their production sustainable, Folkcharm chooses to hand-spin their cotton into yarns and dye them with local plants like buak and ebony. The dyed yarns are then hand woven into textiles before they get sewn into fashionable dresses, shirts and accessories by Folkcharm’s tailors in Bangkok, many of whom are highly skilled and used to work for high-end fashion brands.
Driven by the vision of creating ethical fashion, Folkcharm expanded from just four weavers and one tailor 10 years ago, into a community of nearly 50 women today. The Loei women are active participants of Folkcharm, fully involved in setting prices and maintaining quality.
During this period, their income from weaving increased by between 30 and 50 percent. This not only gave the women artisans gainful employment but also strengthened their voice within the household—granting them financial independence and a new sense of pride and purpose. As Passawee emphasized, “with more income, they are able to have a bigger say and more liberty to do things.”
Every purchase is a choice
Folkcharm’s success story is not an isolated one. Like any other business, its success comes from buyers that consciously support them. Passawee acknowledged that most of those who support Folkcharm are socially and environmentally aware. They want to empower a cause. Many also want something that they can be proud of for a long time.
“One of our clients wore Folkcharm to go on stage to receive her award and gives talks to large audiences.” she continued.
Excitedly, Passawee mentioned that “influencers have also started to market our products through livestreaming.” This generates interest among fashionable teenagers and young adults. “Many of them like our camisoles because it is a relevant design, soft, and unique,” she explained.
Although based in Bangkok, many of Folkcharm’s customers are from abroad. One of them is Lorenzo, a young professional working in Singapore. “Recently, I bought my mom a new coat dress for Christmas, and she was really happy about it. Shopping together was a fun experience,” he said.
A global movement and narrative
Folkcharm’s local impact connects with the global movement towards ethical fashion. The conversation that Folkcharm started in Loei Province is ultimately part of a global narrative—an echo of causes like #WhoMadeMyClothes, the Clean Clothes Campaign, and the APEC Bangkok Goals on BCG Economy.
Looking forward, Passawee shared that Folkcharm plans to continue raising awareness by engaging youth leaders and implementing cultural knowledge management efforts. Her quest for expression and meaning through Folkcharm is an evolving story of empowerment and hope.
How would you like to contribute to this global narrative?
Note: To protect their privacy, all names were changed except for Passawee Kodaka.