In Memoriam

Klaus Hohenegger

Klaus Hohenegger, Managing Director of Sourcing Solutions and Co-founder and Director of Thrive Collaborative, was a close friend of and major contributor to the work of Fair Wear for over a decade. After living and working in Asia in the late 1990s he acquired a command of the inner workings of the garment industry from nearly every angle, both as a buyer and as a supplier, placing him in a unique position to help drive our work on human rights in the global clothing industry.

Klaus sparked a series of innovations that would jumpstart brand action on living wages, the most significant of which was laying the groundwork for the Fair Price Portal, a tool to assist suppliers and buyers that are serious about achieving a living wage in their garment price negotiations. Fair Price was a first step in finding our way through the complex world of transactions in the international garment business, and challenges most certainly abound for companies seeking to use this tool to deliver a living wage.

Klaus was instrumental in starting our living wage journey and helped us grapple with the many unanswered questions facing fashion and workwear retailers keen to ensure workers' rights whilst sourcing from production countries in Asia, the Pan Mediterranean Area and Central and Eastern Europe. Fair Price and the Fair Price Foundation would not have existed if it was not for the expertise, drive and relentless positivity of Klaus.