Socially Responsible Design

Fashioning the Future Award winners announced, London

November 23, 2011
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Fashioning the Future Award winners announced, London

On November 10th, the Centre for Sustainable Fashion (CSF), at London College of Fashion, announced the winners of this year’s Fashioning the Future Awards — themed UNIQUE. Congratulations to Ashley Brock (United States), Sara Emilie Terp Hansen (Denmark), Evelyn Lebis (Sweden), Christian Frank Muller (Germany) Alice Payne (Australia), and Lara Torres (Portugal). Here is a taste of just two of the award winning entries (now added to the ‘Projects for Change’ collection on the left): “Man sinking to the floor” from “An impossible wardrobe for the invisible,” by Lara Torres, is “a video installation showcasing water soluble clothing in order...

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Otto von Busch Hacks Fashion Theory

September 2, 2011
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Otto von Busch Hacks Fashion Theory

As you know, we’re huge fans of Otto von Busch for his innovative work and research in ir/responsible fashion and hackivism. In a recent project, Otto hacks fashion theory through a series of small booklets. We’ve just added them to our required reading list and so should you! “Fashion is the celebration of the immediate future. By being constantly new, fashion indicates that the future can be something else, and it pulls us there, by force almost, promising the endless possibilities of the new, the unwritten, our possible better self.” (The Virus of Fashion, Axel Trumpfheller and Otto von...

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i-Sustain // The Centre for Sustainable Fashion partners with i-D to transform perceptions of clothing

August 9, 2011
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i-Sustain // The Centre for Sustainable Fashion partners with i-D to transform perceptions of clothing

The Centre for Sustainable Fashion has partnered with i-D to deliver a 12 part series designed to transform the way we buy, wear and consider fashion. In i-Sustain: Issue III—the third instalment— Alex McIntosh investigates marketing, consumption and notions of a collective conscious while featuring designer Ruth Ferguson’s responsible swimwear collection: Olga Olsson “We’re not foolish enough to think that in a few hundred words it’s possible to shed light on the ethical black hole from which the ‘democratically’ priced fashion we crave emerges but one thing is for sure, as long as we keep demanding it faster and...

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Sneaky Business // Oxfam Australia organizes virtual protest to support the rights of footwear workers

August 9, 2011
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Sneaky Business // Oxfam Australia organizes virtual protest to support the rights of footwear workers

Oxfam Australia has launched a new online campaign: Sneaky Business—a virtual march touring protesters across factories in Southeast Asia, China and Central America, all the way to the headquarters of leading shoe manufacturer, Nike. The march is a call for action for workers rights in the global footwear industry. As I write this post, there are 205 virtual protesters marching through Indonesia. “The journey shows that poor working conditions are a global problem. Worker exploitation exists whether in Australia, South East Asia or Central America. However Sneaky Business also demonstrates that there are companies doing the right thing— ensuring...

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From Understanding to Design and Back Again // Denver Cumulus

August 4, 2011
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From Understanding to Design and Back Again // Denver Cumulus

The Cumulus conference will be held in Denver from Sept. 29 – Oct.2, under the theme From Understanding to Design and Back Again. “Designers can no longer be spectators. The boundaries we are used to have disappeared and as human beings we ‘play’ a real role in designing the world around us.” (Cumulus) Cumulus is a global association serving art and design education and research. The Paper Lectures and Discussion Sessions look very interesting. Here are just some that caught my eye: Ethics Matters! Re-Thinking the Moral Discourse in Design: Lorenzo Imbesi, Carleton University Canada Visions of Environmental Art...

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Autodesk streamlines responsible design education with innovative video lecture series

August 1, 2011
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Autodesk streamlines responsible design education with innovative video lecture series

With a little help from Mr. Imagination, Dawn Danby, Sustainable Design Program Manager at Autodesk, and Jeremy Faludi, Sustainable Design Expert and Stanford University Lecturer,  deliver video tutorials on responsible design through Autodesk’s Education Series: Design for Product Lifetime Strategies. “Introduction to Design for Product Lifetime” (embedded below) is just one of many lectures up and running, including “Design for Durability” and “Design for Disassembly and Recycling.” Head on over to Autodesk’s Education Community to learn more, and check out the YouTube channel!

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Designing values, Cradle to Cradle

July 31, 2011
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Designing values, Cradle to Cradle

No matter where we sit—consumer, designer, marketer, researcher, educator, etc.—on the global apparel supply chain, our understanding of responsibility stems from our values, individual or shared. “By design, we start with values” (William McDonough) We must constantly ask ourselves: “What are my values? What are my intentions? Do they align? How do they translate in practice?” Easier said than done? Not with Cradle to Cradle (C2C) design theory: C2C encapsulates values in design, by design.   Designers Accord – Sustainability in 7 – Bill McDonough from Core77 on Vimeo. Image Source: “Am I happier now?” image by Carlotta Cataldi,...

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Interactive lesson plans educate learners on responsible fashion

May 30, 2011
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Interactive lesson plans educate learners on responsible fashion

The Creative Commons is embedded into our responsible education ethos; we have researched and aggregated content to create educational resources because we believe that accessibility leads to accountability. Of course knowledge is power, but without access to knowledge we will not move forward. In 2009 we brought you “ Sifting through the ‘Ecofashion’ Lexicon” and our “Fibre Analysis”. In 2010 we worked further to bringing you lessons on the social, cultural, economic and environmental interdisciplinary challenges facing the value system that is the global apparel supply chain. Social Alterations 2010 // Corporate Social Responsibility ...

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VOICES // Sourcing Change — Charlie Ross, Offset Warehouse

April 12, 2011
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VOICES // Sourcing Change — Charlie Ross, Offset Warehouse

This post was written by Charlie Ross, Founder of Offset Warehouse and tells the story of one woman’s determination and drive for change. VOICES // a feature space on SA where community members are invited to share their journey in responsible design. What’s your story? The first time ethical design came onto my radar was whilst I was studying for my BA in Fashion and it immediately struck a chord. Inspired by a friend to find out more about the social and environmental horrors underlying much of the fashion industry, I made an early decision to do everything I could...

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Call for Submissions // CoDesign: Special Issue for Socially Responsive Design

December 18, 2010
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Call for Submissions // CoDesign: Special Issue for Socially Responsive Design

CoDesign, the International Journal of CoCreation in Design and the Arts, has a call for papers out under a special theme: Socially Responsive Design – understanding the differences between service design, social design and social innovation and identifying tools and methods for designing and evaluating social change. Click here to read the full details of this call for submissions. Deadline for submission: 28 January 2011 Proposed timetable to publication thereafter: Post-review notification of decisions: 30 April 2011 Deadline for submission of revised papers: 30 June 2011 Final selected papers to production: 9 September 2011 Publication of Special Issue: December...

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