Responsibility

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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Wage Ladder, new online tool benchmarks living wages for garment workers

November 23, 2011
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Wage Ladder, new online tool benchmarks living wages for garment workers

The Fairwear Foundation (FWF) has just launched Wage Ladder, an online tool and resource to assist brands, factories, trade unions and NGOs in their efforts as they work towards establishing and mainstreaming living wages for garment workers. What exactly is a ‘living wage’? Click here to learn about recent developments on a living wage  from Nadira Lamrad. Wage Ladder is currently programmed with data from Bangladesh, Bulgaria, China, India, Macedonia, Portugal, Romania, Thailand, Tunisia, Turkey, Ukraine and Vietnam, but for all other countries, users may enter their own data into the system. “While global garment supply chains generate enormous...

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Responsible Sourcing // The future is bright

November 22, 2011
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Responsible Sourcing // The future is bright

The challenge of sourcing responsible material is a large barrier for many designers wanting to take steps toward responsible design. Thanks to initiatives and organizations such as the Centre for Sustainable Fashion’s Shared Talent India, Ethical Fashion Forum’s annual Spotlight on Sourcing Expo (more info. here), Offset Warehouse and Source4Style, however, the future is bright. Here’s some more exciting news on the responsible sourcing front: Working with the Centre for Sustainable Fashion, The Sustainable Angle will present the Future Fabrics Expo at London College of Fashion on November 29-30. “With an emphasis on a high quality luxurious offering, diverse...

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Fair Wear Foundation awarded UN grant to support garment workers in India and Bangladesh

November 17, 2011
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Fair Wear Foundation awarded UN grant to support garment workers in India and Bangladesh

The Fair Wear Foundation (FWF) has been awarded a grant by the United Nations Trust Fund to End Violence against Women (UN Trust Fund). Working in India and Bangladesh, the three year grant will be used by FWF and four partner organizations (SAVE and Cividep, in India, and the AMRF Society and Awaj Foundation in Bangladesh) “to implement innovative new strategies to reduce workplace violence against women in the garment industry.” (FWF) “The benefits to women of a workplace without violence are clear and immediate, and an issue of respect for fundamental human rights.“ (Erica Van Doorn, Director of Fair...

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TEST YOURSELF// ETI- NORWAY launches new tool “A Practitioner’s Guide To Ethical Trade”

November 1, 2011
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TEST YOURSELF// ETI- NORWAY launches new tool “A Practitioner’s Guide To Ethical Trade”

  Does ethical responsibly apply to me? How do I start? How do I identify the risks in my supply chain? Can I really make a difference? Here at SA we say that the answer to all the above is YES! The idea of ethical and environmental practice can be daunting to many, however with the right tools the process of identification and implementation of ethical practices can be rewarding. Thus, help change the course of unethical practices in supply chains. The Ethical Trading Initiative – Norway  (ETI-Norway) recently launched “A Practitioner’s Guide To Ethical Trade”,a new tool to...

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VOICES // Imagining a common etiquette through responsible fashion

October 21, 2011
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VOICES // Imagining a common etiquette through responsible fashion

This post was written by Maya Kenova and Audrey Vincent, post-graduate students in the Applied Imagination course at Central Saint Martins and creators of Common Fashion and Fashion Etiquette Insider projects. In this post, they share their individual journeys toward responsible fashion design, marketing and consumption, harnessing creativity and imagination. VOICES // a feature space on SA where select community members are invited to share their journey in responsible design. What’s your story?   Maya Kenova The moment I moved to London, the moment I discovered it had much more to offer in terms of sights and attractions. Tourists, as well as locals, enjoy the outside...

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Urgent | Knit a Sweater for a Penguin!

October 20, 2011
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Urgent | Knit a Sweater for a Penguin!

  UPDATE: Sweaters for Skeinz have reached critical mass! If your still keen to knit a sweater, contact the organizations directly (information below) to make sure they are still in demand.  Here’s the update from Skeinz: “we do have crital mass of jumpers – but don’t worry if you have just completed yours – still send it in to us as we will keep stocks available for the Wildlife Rescue Team to draw from if required.” - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – -...

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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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