Animal Rights

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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New York Fashion Week vs. the Ready Made Garment Sector in Bangladesh: whose interests are protected when ‘special’ police hit the streets for fashion?

February 1, 2011
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New York Fashion Week vs. the Ready Made Garment Sector in Bangladesh: whose interests are protected when ‘special’ police hit the streets for fashion?

The fashion industry is often seen as a complicated paradox. So much so that many professionals working in the field of worker rights and environmental security frequently shy away from using the word ‘fashion’ itself. In its place, they vote for ‘garment,’ ‘apparel,’ ‘textile,’ etc. While it’s natural for industry jargon to vary—different circles will have their own set of terminology—it is important to recognize that in the end we are all talking about the same thing: fashion. Fashion, after all, designs the stage and sets the pace for the performance. For our part, if we cannot connect human...

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Interview with Hare+Hart

April 5, 2010
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Interview with Hare+Hart

As I had mentioned in a previous post, I emailed Hare+Hart some interview questions which they promptly answered.  Company founders, Jennie Engelhardt and Emily Harrison, are doing some very inspiring work in the leather business and have taken the time out of their busy schedule (including moving and preparing for a two month trip to Argentina to work on their upcoming line) to answer our questions.  Thank you Hare+Hart. SA:  Let’s start at the beginning, how did you end up in Argentina making leather garments? H+H:  There are more cows living in Argentina than people.  Historically, Argentine culture is centered around...

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Social Alterations// Slides

March 15, 2010
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Nadira and I both promised to make the slides from our presentations at the FEI conference available online, and here they are, along with a slideshow of some of the images we captured from the event. I’ve reposted the videos of the presentations for convenience. Thanks to everyone who offered feedback, we were so grateful for your considerations. Please, keep let’s keep the conversation going! Be sure to contact us with any questions! Social Alterations: An Education Lab for Socially Responsible Fashion Design View more presentations from socialalterations. Social Alterations @ FEI from Social Alterations on Vimeo. CSR Trends...

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Social Alterations @ FEI

March 2, 2010
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Social Alterations @ FEI

So here we are in London for the Fashioning an Ethical Industry Conference: Fast Forward. Today, Nadira and I will both be presenting at the conference, and with Katrine in attendance, this will mark the first time the SA team is all together in the same place at the same time!   We will be doing lots of blogging and twitter (ing?) from the event, and will have our presentations uploaded later tonight for you to check out, so be sure to tune in. Follow on twitter via @maryhanlon for that feed. Wish us luck!

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Midway: Message from the Gyre

February 9, 2010
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Midway: Message from the Gyre

“We’ve lost our sense of outrage” (Chris Jordan, TEDtalk, June 23, 2008). How do we change? We change through behaviour, says photographer Chris Jordan. His book, Running the Numbers: An American Self Portrait, is available for direct purchase through his website, and also via Amazon, through the SA . This short film speaks for itself: Jordan presents his research and master imagery in TEDtalk: Picturing Excess: Source: chris jordan photographic arts

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A New Approach to the Issue of Living Wages

November 17, 2009
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A New Approach to the Issue of Living Wages

One of the root causes of poverty wages in the industry is the power of global buyers to constantly relocate production in search of ever lower prices and better terms of trade. This power is used to exert a downward pressure on wages and conditions – labour being one of the few ‘production costs’ or ‘inputs’ that can be squeezed.  The solution The basic idea of the Asia Floor Wage is to put a ‘floor’ under this, thereby preventing this competition from forcing wages below poverty levels...

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Social Alterations: Fibre Analysis

October 5, 2009
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We’re working on developing some ready-to-use curricula for fashion/textile/apparel instructors and designers. First up, is the Social Alterations “Fibre Analysis: Possible Social and Environmental Impacts.” Data for this document was aggregated from resources you will find in the “Works Cited” section, on the last page of the PDF. This document is licensed and protected through the Creative Commons, which basically means that you can use it wherever/whenever you want, assuming you do so within the guidelines outlined in the Creative Commons licensing for which this document is registered (see below). This is only the beginning folks; Social Alterations has...

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An October to Remember// Upcoming Events

September 30, 2009
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An October to Remember// Upcoming Events

October will have you wishing you could be in more than one city at the same time. If you find yourself in Paris, Chicago, Providence, Portland, Hong Kong, London or Seattle this October, be sure to check out these amazing events. Click on the event you are interested in on the Events Calendar and we should link you straight into the events homepage. Also, if you are near London in Oct. Nov. or Dec., be sure to stay tuned into the London College of Fashion, for Clash! Creative Collisions in Fashion and Science.   Last but not least, if...

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Social Alterations is now on Ning!

September 1, 2009
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Social Alterations is now on Ning!

  You can use this space to share and upload curricula ideas, lesson plans, visual aids, research and projects, or to just discuss the current happenings in the industry with respect to social issues and environmental concerns, as well as the latest trends in socially responsible design.     “See” you in the Forum! Oh…and don’t forget to pick up your Social Alterations Badge!   Visit Social Alterations

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