We’ve just added Couture and Consensus by Regina Root, Associate Professor of Hispanic Studies at the College of William and Mary and President Ad Honorem at Ixel Moda 2010, to our reading section! Here is the abstract: “The intersection... »

“Wearing unclean clothes is a social taboo. Yet behind this everyday routine there are some major resource, pollution and social problems.” (Designer Emma Rigby, Energy Water Fashion) Emma Rigby investigates the nature of behaviours and rituals surrounding fashion and... »

  Last week, Mary wrote about the large scale garment worker protests in Bangladesh. If you don’t know about this issue, I urge you to read more on Mary’s post as well as other sources such as The Guardian,... »

This post was written by Leah Nielsen of Fairware and tells the story of product with purpose: promotional products for your conscious. VOICES // a feature space on SA where community members are invited to share their journey in responsible design.... »

“The garment industry accounts for more than 80% of impoverished Bangladesh’s £10bn annual export earnings” (Jason Burke, The Guardian) Millions of Bangladeshi workers took to the streets of Dhaka recently to protect their rights as workers only to find... »

Blaise Springfield, President of the Student Ethical Fashion Organization 2010-11 (SEFO) at The College of William and Mary, has informed us that the college Provost has just asserted that “by the fall he will have enacted a committee to... »

What happens to your clothes after you donate them?  Witness, a documentary program on Al-Jazeera English, played this episode (43 minutes) exploring the journey of a single t-shirt from Northern Germany all the way to Africa’s mitumba market.  ... »

Along with father’s day, June 20th also marked World Refugee Day.  The United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) along with its partners ran week-long awareness raising activities world wide centered around this year’s theme: Home.  The day was commemorated in... »

A new report from cKinetics, ‘Exporting Textiles: March to Sustainability,’ has mapped sustainability initiatives in the supply chain of global brands such as: Adidas, Gap Inc., H&M, Ikea, Levi Strauss & Co, Marks & Spencer, Nike, Otto, Carrefour, Walmart,... »

VOICES // a feature space on SA where community members are invited to share their journey in responsible design. This post was written by Jorrit Jorritsma, Co-Founder of Millican, and tells the story of the joys and challenges they face... »

With the world cup just around the corner, the new report  “Missed the Goal for Workers: the Reality of Soccer Ball Stitchers,” from the International Labor Rights Forum (ILRF) is citing massive violations in the rights for workers making soccer... »

Waste is a valuable, yet often little understood, resource that may be used to subvert and reconfigure moral, legal, social and political boundaries in the pursuit of livelihoods and business success. Textile recyclers have developed a range of socio-technological... »

A roundup of some of the stories, headlines, and updates you may be interested in from in and around the community of socially responsible fashion design // education. For other news, links and regular updates, visit our Facebook page, here,... »

Commerce with a Conscious takes shopping for ethical menswear to the next leve1 thanks to the new CWAC Product Guide. Here is how it works: “With the CWACPG, visitors can browse and compare CWAC-approved clothing and accessories based on... »

Aware of What We Wear: an Ethical Fashion Initiative by Samantha Reichman, Secretary of the Student Ethical Fashion Organization, The College of William and Mary How can fashion, a multibillion dollar flashy, frivolous, fickle industry, created to appeal to... »

  Puma, in collaboration with fuseproject, has developed one Clever Little Bag.  I don’t know what is more shocking, the amount of waste this new concept saves, or learning the numbers on how much waste a shoe box accounts... »

“Fashion makes people dream. On a global scale, the fashion industry is first and foremost a huge market and an economic driving force for job and wealth creation. This prosperity can and should in turn become the catalyst for... »

“In co-operation with Comhlamh, Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU) Mandate and Trocaire, Re-dress has working on the establishment of an Irish branch Clean Clothes Campaign (CCC) in 2010. The CCC is the world’s largest alliance of labour unions... »

Title: (Re) Fashioning Fiber: New Horizons in Environmental Art and Fashion Location: New York Link out: Click here Date: 2010-05-20 Description: Invited artists and designers include: Abigail Doan, Atefeh Khas, Brece Honeycutt, Ceca Georgeiva, Abigail McEnroe, Kaori Yamazaki, Mackenzie... »

Vancouver Eco Fashion Week is taking Canada by storm, bringing the best in ethical design from the global arena to Vancouver September 28th -30th: To celebrate sustainable principles and styles To identify and refine sustainable industry practices To educate... »

The Social Alterations team wants to send a big, fat, huge, virtual high-five to Sheena Matheiken and Eliza Starbuck form the Uniform Project. Thanks to the $79,551 this project raised in donations, 220 Children will now have sufficient funds... »

Check out this Wind Knitting Factory by RCA grad Merel Karhof. But don’t just stop there—also check out Karhof’s Energy Harvesters: broaches that are worn to illustrate the amount of personal wind power harvested as you walk around! “The... »

Over the past few weeks, I’ve had the pleasure of sitting down with Tamara Albu, Director of the A.A.S. Fashion Design Program at Parsons School of Fashion in New York to discuss Social Alterations, and the work we’ve been... »

    Fashion High @ Balmoral Jr. Secondary School from Social Alterations on Vimeo. On Earth Day, SA stepped back into the classroom to introduce Grade 8 students to the social and environmental impacts of fashion. We have collated... »

Credit: jypsygen via Flickr. The David Suzuki Foundation (DSF) has compiled a list of toxic chemicals to avoid in personal care products.   Research has shown that “one in eight of the 82,000 ingredients used in personal care products... »

Back in January, we posted on Clearing the Hurdles, a report by The Playfair campaign, which is made up of  the Clean Clothes Campaign (CCC), the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), and the International Textile, Garment and Leather Worker’s... »

 I recently had the pleasure of stepping in as a guest speaker at Balmoral Jr. Secondary School, in North Vancouver (BC, Canada), to talk responsible fashion consumption with a fantastic group of Grade 10’s (thanks Ms. Thomson!). Why? We... »

Our friends over at Re-dress in Ireland have been BUSY! In less than one month, Re-dress will present FASHION EVOLUTION, Ireland’s 3rd ethical fashion week: “Fashion Evolution aims to re-vitalise the spirit of the Irish fashion industry, with a... »

“The fashion industry faces major challenges in both resources and labor, but designers featured in the Eco Chic exhibition strive to change the general attitude of fashion and consumption.” (Scandinavian House, on Eco Chic) Will you be in New... »

Janette Crawford, who runs one of our favourite blogs, fashion loves people, has shared a wonderful interview she had originally done for KCFreePress.com. The interview is with Liz Bohannon, founder of Sseko Designs, an organization working to provide women... »

As I had mentioned in a previous post, I emailed Hare+Hart some interview questions which they promptly answered.  Company founders, Jennie Engelhardt and Emily Harrison, are doing some very inspiring work in the leather business and have taken the time out... »

“The IIT Institute of Design’s 9th Annual Design Research Conference (DRC) will be held at the Spertus Institute in downtown Chicago on May 10-12th 2010. It will feature exceptional international speakers and opportunities to spend time with our brilliant... »

Design Currency: Icograda Design Week In Vancouver Cur”rency\ The state or quality of being current; general acceptance or reception; a passing from person to person, or from hand to hand. Design has the power to influence our core values,... »

The Earth Awards is a global search for creative solutions designed for the 21st Century. The award represents six categories: Built Environment, Product, Future, Systems, Fashion, and Social Justice. Dilys Williams, Director of the Centre for Sustainable Fashion, London... »

The Fair Wear Foundation (FWF) has launched a new publication, the Fair Wear formula. “The design by Ruben @ Buro RuSt combines with the more than readable texts by Anne Lally combine to create an innovative, attractive description of... »

Eco-conscious artist transforms trashed PCBs into stunning sculptures via Ecofriend A roundup of some of the stories, headlines, and updates you may be interested in from in and around the community of socially responsible fashion design. Become a Fan on... »

Who’s your favourite responsible Canadian designer? Fashion Takes Action (FTA) has officially launched Canada’s 1st annual eco design award, Design Forward. I had the pleasure of working on this project, and I am so excited that Social Alterations could... »

Synthetic Aesthetic asks: How would you design nature? The project is a collaborative effort between artists/designers and scientists/engineers that strives “to bring creative practitioners and those who are expert at studying, analysing and designing the synthetic/natural interface together with... »

The new report, called Sick Water?, says some two million tons of waste, estimated to equal two or more billion tons of wastewater is being discharged daily into rivers and seas spreading disease to humans and damaging key... »

“To mark the launch of the new Graduate Program in Transdisciplinary Design, this year’s Stephan Weiss Lecture Series in The School of Design Strategies is dedicated to the theme of transdisciplinary design. The series will explore the shifting of... »

“On March 26, Parsons and MoMA with IFF, Seed, and Coty present Headspace: On Scent as Design. Headspace is a one-day symposium on the conception, impact, and potential applications of scent. This event gathers leading thinkers, designers, scientists, artists,... »

“This year, the largest annual conference on European environment policy turns the spotlight on biodiversity. Over some 30 sessions, the conference will address the state of biodiversity and nature in Europe and the world, the benefits they bring, present-day... »

March 22nd is World Water Day. Here are just a handful of stats out of the UN report World Water Day 2010: Clean Water for a Healthy World, “Water quality facts and statistics”: Worldwide, infectious diseases such as waterborne diseases are the number one... »

The David Suzuki Foundation has launched a FREE downloadable toolkit to help businesses and organizations tread a little more lightly on the planet.   “Work life isn’t just about punching a clock with a bunch of strangers. Smart employers... »

“MADE-BY and Organic Exchange is delighted to invite you to a unique 2-day intensive seminar on sustainable fashion (clothing and textile) in Stockholm! This seminar is the perfect opportunity to assist textile and apparel professionals working in brands and... »

“The seminar, to be held at the Chateau Frontenac Hotel, will include an overview of new life-cycle assessment research; information and tools designed to help market the benefits of reusable textiles; and information on how to enhance and measure... »

Is there such a product?  According to Hare+Hart, there is and they’re using it to make beautifully designed pieces.  Company founders, Jennie Engelhardt and Emily Harrison, tell us on their website: “we believe that the materials and production process... »

Nadira and I both promised to make the slides from our presentations at the FEI conference available online, and here they are, along with a slideshow of some of the images we captured from the event. I’ve reposted the... »

Carolina Gomez-Aubert is the Creative Director behind Lunamano : material rescue and re-design. Presenting both her company and academic research at the FEI conference earlier this month, Carolina passionately described the desperate situation of the women she works with... »

  Earlier this month SA had the pleasure of interviewing David Goldsmith from The Swedish School of Textiles and Parsons, Eleanor Dorrien-Smith from PARTIMI, Kat Ross and Larissa Clark from the Environmental Justice Foundation, Carolina Gomez-Aubert from Lunamano, and... »

  The ‘Open Space’ at the FEI conference featured celebrated authors Kate Fletcher, Sustainable Fashion and Textiles: Design Journeys, Matilda Lee, Eco-Chic: The Savvy Shoppers Guide to Ethical Fashion, and Sandy Black, Eco-Chic: The Fashion Paradox. You can find... »

SA’s Nadira Lamrad presented her research, “CSR Trends in China’s Apparel Supply Chain,” at the FEI conference on March 2nd. The workshop, titled “New Approaches in Education and Industry,” was chaired by industry consultant Maggie Burns, and speaking alongside... »