Supply Chain
Time to Connect the Dots!
Bangladesh has been rocked by protests that resulted in injured and killed workers and security personnel, labour leaders have gone into hiding fearing the worst, some arrests have taken place — all of this over unsatisfactory wage hikes to 3,000 Taka/month (~US$43) but, don’t worry Canadian consumers, your clothing costs will not increase! I have to... »
Bangladesh// The Details
Two weeks ago, SA founder, Mary Hanlon alerted us to a little reported story on massive worker strikes in Bangladesh. Following that, we decided to create Social Alterations // Visual Lab and introduced The Bangladesh Project. We noticed a lack of context in the reports circulating, so we decided to just go ahead and give... »
WATCH//Mitumba: The Second Hand Road
What happens to your clothes after you donate them? Witness, a documentary program on Al-Jazeera English, played this episode (43 minutes) exploring the journey of a single t-shirt from Northern Germany all the way to Africa’s mitumba market. This is a fascinating look into the easily forgotten part of the apparel supply chain.... »
Refugees & Clothing
Along with father’s day, June 20th also marked World Refugee Day. The United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) along with its partners ran week-long awareness raising activities world wide centered around this year’s theme: Home. The day was commemorated in different ways from a simulated refugee experience in Kuala Lumpur to free concerts and entertainment... »
Aware of What We Wear
Aware of What We Wear: an Ethical Fashion Initiative by Samantha Reichman, Secretary of the Student Ethical Fashion Organization, The College of William and Mary How can fashion, a multibillion dollar flashy, frivolous, fickle industry, created to appeal to the whims of the consumer possibly be ETHICAL? Students of “Ethical Fashion” have discovered the... »
VIDEO//Parsons School of Fashion sits down with Mary Hanlon to talk Social Alterations and Responsible Design
Over the past few weeks, I’ve had the pleasure of sitting down with Tamara Albu, Director of the A.A.S. Fashion Design Program at Parsons School of Fashion in New York to discuss Social Alterations, and the work we’ve been doing in developing free, open-source curricula for students and educators. Tamara asked me to sit... »
TEACH// Fun Workshops for Pre-16 Learners: [Fashion High] Understanding the Impact of your Clothing
![TEACH// Fun Workshops for Pre-16 Learners: [Fashion High] Understanding the Impact of your Clothing](http://socialalterations.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/FashionHigh_Image4.jpg)
Fashion High @ Balmoral Jr. Secondary School from Social Alterations on Vimeo. On Earth Day, SA stepped back into the classroom to introduce Grade 8 students to the social and environmental impacts of fashion. We have collated our favorite activities from Teaching Sustainable Fashion: A Handbook for Educators as well as developed... »
“Step into her shoes” for some Human Rights training with Fashioning an Ethical Industry
Back in January, we posted on Clearing the Hurdles, a report by The Playfair campaign, which is made up of the Clean Clothes Campaign (CCC), the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), and the International Textile, Garment and Leather Worker’s Federation (ITGLWF), in partnership with Maquila Solidarity Network, and other organizations worldwide. This May, Fashioning an... »
Fashion High// Educating Youth on Responsible Fashion Consumption
I recently had the pleasure of stepping in as a guest speaker at Balmoral Jr. Secondary School, in North Vancouver (BC, Canada), to talk responsible fashion consumption with a fantastic group of Grade 10’s (thanks Ms. Thomson!). Why? We got to talking recently at SA about how many of the resources we’re aggregating for... »
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... »
