HIDDEN NARRATIVES

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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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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Fun Find | Vintage Chinese Fashion Magazine

September 11, 2011
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Fun Find | Vintage Chinese Fashion Magazine

Remember about a year ago when I posted an overview of the exhibit The Evergreen Classic: Transformation of the Qipao that was showing at the Hong Kong Museum of History. This is somewhat of a follow-up to that post. Yesterday, while perusing my twitter friend feed I came across this: Having lived in Shanghai for a long time, I couldn’t resist clicking on the link and up came the website for the online repository of Ling long Magazine at the C.V.Starr East Asian Library at Columbia University. On this site you can find every issue of Ling long Women’s Magazine...

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Where Are These Child Labourers Working?

September 11, 2011
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Where Are These Child Labourers Working?

Today, we’re  playing a game. Read the clues and try to figure out the location before you get to the end of this post. In this country, children between the ages of 12 and 18 are legally allowed to work long hours in all sorts of hazardous conditions as long as the job is classified as agricultural work. If the farm is classified as a ‘small’ farm, children of any age can work as hired labourers. Some of the most common jobs include: picking fruits and vegetables picking tobacco hoeing cotton and weeding cotton fields Some common job-related hazards...

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Next up…A Living Wage!

August 31, 2011
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Next up…A Living Wage!

It’s no secret that the CSR industry cycles through trends of the ‘it’ topic. For a while the hottest topic was workers at Latin American maquiladores, then it was human rights in the sports lifestyle industry, then we moved on to organic cotton, and water ‘stewardship’ and the cycles continue. Lately, I’ve noticed something interesting. A new hot topic is on the horizon and will probably emerge full force into ‘mainstream’ CSR conversations within the next few years: living wages! Some of you may be thinking that you’ve heard of this issue before…nothing new! That’s true, it is not a new...

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Mass Faintings, Fixed-Duration Contracts and the ILO’s Better Factories Cambodia Program

August 30, 2011
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Mass Faintings, Fixed-Duration Contracts and the ILO’s Better Factories Cambodia Program

You’ve likely followed the mass faintings of garment workers that have taken place in Cambodia this year. While most reports have cited gruelling working conditions and worker exposure to toxic chemicals as likely causes, reasons for the faintings remain unclear.  - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - Fast Facts // Cambodia “The face...

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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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Made-by updates fibre benchmark to reflect current research

August 3, 2011
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Made-by updates fibre benchmark to reflect current research

The Made-by  Environmental Benchmark for Fibres has been updated to reflect new research. The benchmark considers six categories: greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) until spinning, human toxicity, ecological toxicity, energy and water input and land use (Made-by). “In response to feedback we have included new fibres in this updated Benchmark; mechanically and chemically recycled polyesters are now differentiated to represent the different environmental impacts of the recycling technologies used, and recycled wool has been added in Class A. Whilst we are keeping an eye on this area, there have been no new studies made publically available to help us review...

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Call for Papers // Research Journal of Textile and Apparel

August 3, 2011
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Call for Papers // Research Journal of Textile and Apparel

The Research Journal of Textile and Apparel is seeking papers for two Special Issues: 1) Fashion and Textile Strategies for Sustainable Design and Consumption Submission of original papers: December 2011 Reviewer’s feedback and evaluation: February/March 2012 Notification of acceptance: April 2012 Publication: August 2012 2) The influence of natural colorants in modern textile design and production Submission of original papers: September 2011 Reviewer’s feedback and evaluation: November/December 2011 Notification of acceptance: January 2012 Publication: March 2012 Submissions for each are encouraged (but not limited to) the following topics: - – - – - – - – - – -...

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