Cotton

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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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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Educating and Engaging // Shared Talent India, Centre for Sustainable Fashion

December 16, 2010
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Educating and Engaging // Shared Talent India, Centre for Sustainable Fashion

Shared Talent India encourages “fashion designers to exchange expertise with other protagonists across the supply chain, transcending traditional divisions, be they linguistic, geographic, or discipline based.” (Shared Talent India) Designers can now access much needed information on opportunities and limitations of materials in India such as cotton and silk (among others). While designers may feel discouraged when they learn that genetically modified (GM) cotton “has found its way into almost every Indian supply chain,” they will no doubt understand the opportunity for change, as it exists in India, when they learn that “eed exchange projects empower farming communities” (Shared...

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Cocoa, Coffee & Cotton

December 6, 2010
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Cocoa, Coffee & Cotton

                  Consumers be forewarned!  The price of your cotton clothes will rise!! Brands, retailers and suppliers are doing everything they can to keep costs down but they are in “a no-choice situation”, “prices have to come up.” Cotton futures increased to around $1.4 recently; the highest price measured in 140 years of trade and with inventories at an all time low, there’s been some massive panic in the apparel industry. Other than the increase in cotton clothing costs, there are a variety of other consequences: 1. It’s expected that in an attempt to...

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Message from Earth: Organic Matters

October 6, 2010
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At Farm Aid  25, Anvil Knitwear, a sustainable apparel manufacturer, released this short film entitled Message from Earth: Organic Matters. In it, Anvil tries to get across the dangers of pesticide use in conventional farming.  They also remind us that we, as consumers, have a choice to make: we can be part of a negative cycle of  degradation or part of a positive cycle of growth. It’s up to you.

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World Water Day: 2010

March 22, 2010
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World Water Day: 2010

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 killer of children under five years old. More people die from unsafe water annually than from all forms of violence, including war. (WHO 2002) Unsafe water causes 4 billion cases of diarrhoea each year, and results in 2.2 million deaths, mostly of children under five. This means that 15% of child deaths each year are attributable to diarrhoea – a...

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WATCH// Social Alterations @ FEI

March 4, 2010
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WATCH// Social Alterations @ FEI

Here are just two of the videos we took at the conference. We have more videos to come, so stay tuned for those. The first video is of my Pecha Kucha talk. I’ll be posting the slides and my notes a little later on. Please contact us if you have any questions on the works cited in the presentation. Social Alterations @ FEI from Social Alterations on Vimeo. The Environmental Justice Foundation (EJF) held the table next to ours during the Market Place on day two of the conference. We asked them what exactly responsible fashion meant to the...

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Update III: Uzbekistan’s Cotton Trail

November 27, 2009
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Yet another update on forced and child labour in Uzbekistan’s cotton sector. The Cotton Campaign continues to report on the flagrant abuse of human rights by the Uzbek government.  There have been some unfortunate incidents linked to this year’s harvest (to read more about them click below) including: An account of a student who was expelled (despite having a legitimate medical excuse) from her school for not participating in the harvest. Bakhtiyar Hamrayev, an Uzbek activist, was attacked after the airing of a BBC story on this issue. The beginning of the court hearings in the case of Ganihon...

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Community News

November 13, 2009
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Community News

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. Abigail Doan Interview with Modebewust Body Politic Vancouver based Body Politic launches new online store Fashion Loves People Why I’m Over American Apparel How Nike will legitimize eco-design for the masses (and eco brands won’t) Ethical Style Issue #25: Design Issue Centre for Sustainable Fashion Green Gucci Pratt Blog Valerie Casey: A Leader in Sustainable Design Clothesource Comments Forced labour added to list of ethical hot topics November Summary EcoTextile News Handbook to aid...

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Battle of the Care Tags: Gap 1969 versus Levi’s 501

November 10, 2009
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Battle of the Care Tags: Gap 1969 versus Levi’s 501

Prediction: 2010 will be the year of the care tags. That is, responsible care tags, among mainstream retailers. You may remember SA highlighting Gap Inc.’s short-sightedness when we took a closer look into their Clean Water Campaign. Although we commended the company for an effective goal implementation strategy, it was hard to ignore the areas in which the company’s analysis fell (and continues to fall) short. For starters, they seem to have conveniently ignored the impact of their product user, the consumer. Gap Inc.’s impact assessment stops at the retailer! As a result, they have washed their hands of...

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