Education

UPDATE III // The NICE Consumer Project & the Copenhagen Fashion Summit

May 2, 2012
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UPDATE III // The NICE Consumer Project & the Copenhagen Fashion Summit

The initial stage of the NICE consumer project comes to an end this week and the NICE  Framework for Achieving Sustainable Fashion Consumption through Collaboration will receive its final revisions during the Copenhagen Fashion Summit. The framework is designed to inspire action from government, industry and civil society, it also highlights areas where more discussion is needed; for example, how can we create a transparent value chain, or an environment which fosters sustainable business models and supports sustainable behaviors? Since my last update I have attended a workshop in London, and taken part in the final webinar, Stress Testing the...

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UPDATE II // The NICE consumer project

March 27, 2012
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UPDATE II // The NICE consumer project

As promised here is an update of the second NICE consumer consultation webinars, The Art of Sustainable Consumption. At this session we heard from four speakers presenting a range of responses to sustainability. In bringing them together we were able to imagine what  ’sustainable consumption’ might look like and also how some of these approaches could be linked. Giordano Capuano -Vivienne Westwood- presented the model of ethical production behind Westwood’s Ethical Africa collection. The project began as part of an initiative of the International Trade Centre, which aimed to link luxury brands in the West to producers in communities...

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UPDATE // The NICE consumer project

March 19, 2012
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UPDATE // The NICE consumer project

Last Tuesday I took part in the first of three webinars on the sustainable consumption of fashion entitled Introducing the NICE CONSUMER Project and the Draft Framework on Sustainable Consumption of Fashion. The webinar experience was new to me and I was unsure of what to expect, but also enthusiastic about the opportunity to participate in such an important conversation. Over the next month I will keep you updated with this project and its development in the run up to the Copenhagen Fashion Summit in May.     The event began with an introduction by Jonas Eder-Hansen of the Danish Fashion Institute followed...

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The Fair Wear Formula

March 1, 2012
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The Fair Wear Formula

The Fair Wear Foundation (FWF) has recently produced a short film which presents a clear summary of what they do, how they do it, and the reasons why. The organisation works towards fair labour conditions for garment workers. To define this they identify eight labour standards based upon the UN human rights principles. These objectives include maintaining a living wage, an end to child labour and the right for workers to form or join a union. The FWF supports brands in achieving these aims in an open manner and provides consumers with the information they need to shop ethically....

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Fashion Futures 2025: Global scenarios for a sustainable fashion industry

February 27, 2012
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Fashion Futures 2025: Global scenarios for a sustainable fashion industry

New Resources for tutors and students! What will the fashion industry be like in 2025? How might the role of the designer or consumer change? And what can we do now to shape our future? Thinking about the future can be daunting because we are bound by what we know and what we have experienced, but it can also help us to see things from another perspective; to inspire debate and innovation. In response to this, Fashion Futures has designed four scenarios that help us to picture the future beyond our existing knowledge of the fashion industry. Each scenario...

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Get schooled in ‘Economic Complexity’ with MIT and Harvard

November 24, 2011
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Get schooled in ‘Economic Complexity’ with MIT and Harvard

Licensed through the Creative Commons, The Atlas of Economic Complexity: Mapping Paths to Prosperity is a collaborative project that builds visualizations on import/export trade flow of products and goods. Once the visualization is built, learners can scroll their mouse over each category for further details. Click here to read up on the research methodology used. With green marking ‘garments’ let’s check out a tree map of Cambodia for exports in 2009 (click on the image to be taken to the interactive map): Visualizations can also be built in stacked area charts and product space visualizations. Here’s a product space map of Hong Kong...

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Style and Status: Imperial Costumes from Ottoman Turkey

November 23, 2011
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Style and Status: Imperial Costumes from Ottoman Turkey

Some people are adamant that fashion is not art. This online exhibit proves them wrong. The Freer Gallery of Art and the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery at the Smithsonian Museum of Asian Art have created an online exhibit that features highlights from their 2005 exhibit entitled Style and Status: Imperial Costumes from Ottoman Turkey. The online exhibit is beautifully curated with interactive close ups of the costumes that are so detailed you can actually see the fabric grain. What’s so special about the Ottoman Empire? According to the press release in 2005: “Three weaves were dominant: velvet (kadife), featuring a three-dimensional...

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Anti-Slavery International targets European Parliament through Cotton Crimes campaign

November 23, 2011
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Anti-Slavery International targets European Parliament through Cotton Crimes campaign

Anti-Slavery International has recently relaunched their Cotton Crimes campaign with a new video. “It is our hope that, through our short video, we will reach out, inform and encourage people to act in the interests of the children of Uzbekistan.” (Samuel Cooper, Anti-Slavery International) Anti-Slavery International is calling on the European Parliament to remove preferential trade tariffs with Uzbekistan. Click here for more information and to sign the petition. Over 60 international retailers have joined forces to boycott Uzbek cotton, publicly stating their commitment to the eradication of forced child labour through the Responsible Sourcing Network, an As You Sow...

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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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READ // Let’s Clean Up Fashion 2011, Labour Behind the Label reports

September 16, 2011
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READ // Let’s Clean Up Fashion 2011, Labour Behind the Label reports

Labour Behind the Label has released a new report, Let’s Clean up Fashion 2011: The state of pay behind the UK high street (LCUF). With respect to a living wage on the high street, this is the 5th edition in a series of LCUF reports from LBL. The findings have ranked Levi Strauss and Gap Inc. with a score of 1 out of 5 (along side H&M, and others), while Zara, Monson and NEXT were found with the highest scores at 3.5 out of 5. According to LBL, initiatives taking living wage seriously must be grounded by four essential...

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