Category Archives: Fast Fashion

A New Approach to the Issue of Living Wages

[Worker sowing at home. India, 2009. © Ankur Ahuja/ Clean Clothes Campaign.]

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 and making sure gains are more equitably shared along the supply chain. The Asia Floor Wage alliance have formulated a unified, regional demand for a minimum living wage which is decent and fair and which can be standardised and compared between countries. This regional collective bargaining strategy will unite workers and their allies from different Asian countries behind one wage demand.

The goal is to attain this standardised minimum living wage for workers across Asia through negotiations between garment industry employers and workers’ representative organisations, and with the mediation and support of governments, inter-governmental organisations and social movements.

The report constructed by the Asia Floor Wage organisation is available here.

Source: Asian Floor Wage

Let`s Clean Up Fashion: 2009 Report

Let’s Clean up Fashion 2009: The State of Pay Behind the UK High Street reports a disconnect between the what’s happening in the boardrooms, the development of corporate social responsibility (CSR) policies and procedures, and what is actually happening on the ground.

“Wages are low because they are kept that way through a global competition that engages workers, factories and whole countries in a race to the bottom – A race where the winners are those that can produce as quickly, cheaply and flexibly as possible” (LCUF, 2009 Report: 2)

According to Fashioning an Ethical Industry (FEI), this year’s guide is not only relevant to high street retailers, but should also be of interest to both fashion design students and tutors, “with indepth company case studies that can be incorporated into university projects or teaching.” (FEI)

“The scandalous truth is that the majority of workers in the global fashion industry rarely earn more than two dollars a day, in an industry worth over 36 billion a year in the UK alone.” (LCUF, 2009 Report: 2)

In this year’s report, Let’s Clean Up Fashion (LCUF) has claimed that “[n]o brand or retailer is paying its workers a living wage, or has yet put together a systematic programme of work that is likely to raise wages to acceptable levels in the near future.” (LCUF, 2009 Report: 3) In 2008, LCUF argued there are “four pillars that underlie a meaningful living wage initiative: using a collaborative approach by working with other companies, trade unions and labour rights groups; supporting worker organising and participation; addressing commercial factors throughout the supply chain and creating a clear road map to implementing the living wage for all workers.” (LCUF, 2009 Report: 4)

The 2009 report lists high street companies who have lost the plot when it comes to basic human rights in the workforce, and presents in depth case studies of each, citing where and why they have fallen short, with comments on what they need to improve. Here is the list of companies included in the report:

Alexon, BHS, Ethel Austin, House of Fraser, Peacock Group, Asda/George, Clarks, Debenhams, French Connection, John Lewis, Laura Ashley, Levi Strauss & Co, Matalan, River Island, Sainsbury’s, Arcadia Group, Aurora Fashions, Burberry, Tesco, Gap, Marks & Spencer (M&S), Monsoon Accessorize, New Look, Next, and Primark.

Click here to read the report online, and here to download the full report in PDF.

Labour Behind the Label has been reporting on these issues since 2006. Click here for previous reports.

Labour Behind the Label. (2006 – 9) Lets clean up fashion: The state of pay behind the UK high street, Bristol: Labour Behind the Label.

Source: FEI and LCUP

Beyond Green

Title: Beyond Green
Location: Amsterdam
Link out: Click here

Designer Winde Rienstra will be exhibiting in the Green Gallery

“This year the symposium again includes a Beyond Green Gallery with presentations on innovative projects by young designers and grass-roots organizations, and exhibition stands manned by numerous companies connected with fashion, textiles and sustainability. A swapshop will also take place where visitors can exchange (closed purse) vintage items. The Beyond Green Gallery will be coordinated by I&A, Ingrid Horsselenberg & Annouk Post.

The symposium will be held in English, and is aimed principally at the students and staff of Dutch fashion and design institutes. It will be held from 10am to 5pm on 9 November 2009 in the World Fashion Centre (Koningin Wilhelminaplein 13, 1062 HH) in Amsterdam.

Press can register via the AMFI-Amsterdam Fashion Institute: m.m.van.de.beek@hva.nl (also for more information about Beyond Green)” (Beyong Green)

Here is the line-up of speakers:

Kate Fletcher, author of Sustainable Textiles: Design Journeys (2008), will be speaking on the topic of “Fashion and Sustainability,” Adriaan Beukers, a full-time Professor on Composite Materials & Structures at the Faculty of Aerospace Engineering at Delft University of Technology and a part-time professor for Engineering with Composites at the Materials Department of the Leuven University, as well as co-author of the books Lightness (1998) and Flying Lightness (2005) will be speaking on “Light Weight,” Fashion Designer Mark Liu on “Zero Waste,” and Carolyn Strauss of slowLab will be speaking on “Slow-Design-Slow Fashion.”

There will also be a “Green Gallery,” divided into four parts, the Information Space, the Showroom, the Exhibition, and the Swap Store.

Here is the list of designers who will be presenting their innovative work in the Exhibition:

Marie Ilse Bourlanges
Wieteke Opmeer
Marianne Kemp
Nanna van Blaaderen
Refinity by Fioen van Balgooi
Marina Toeters en Jesse Asjes
Malousebastiaan
Conny Groenewegen
Malu Berbers
Winde Rienstra
Jeroen Wand
Woesvan Haaften
Amber Dekker

Start Time: 10:00am
Date: 2009-11-09

Source: Hiphonest and Behond Green

Social Alterations featured on Fashioning an Ethical Industry

As followers of SA likely already know, this online lab was developed as a result of my research, ‘Social Alteration: Sustainable Design Solutions through Socially Responsible Design Education’ at Athabasca University. A few months in, SA has grown to include the work contributing writer and collaborator Nadira Lamrad, as well as contributing writer Katrine Karlsen, and has already created the SA Fibre Analysis as our first piece of free downloadable curricula.

I’m excited to report that Fashioning an Ethical Industry has added this work to the student project/dissertation section of their site! Thank you for your support!

Click here to check it out, as well as to learn more about these inspiring student initiatives:

22 magazine

Louise Boulter

University College for the Creative Arts (Epsom)

BA (hons) Fashion Promotion and Imaging

What is ethical wear?

Anita Costanzo

Universita IUAV di Venezia

Corso di laurea in Design della Moda

‘Six’

Danielle Fell

Nottingham Trent University

Fashion Marketing and Communications

Graduate

Can El Salvador develop and sustain homegrown design

Carolina Gomez

Chelsea College of Arts and Design

Textile Design

3rd Year

‘Make-Do-And-Mend’

Nathalie Gottschalk

Ma Ethical Fashion Graduate

Consumer Guidebook Nectar

Cathy Gray

University College of the Creative Arts

Work done in 3rd Year – now graduated

FILM CLIP and ‘Ethical Shopping Guide’

Kelly Levell

Arts Institute at Bournemouth

BA Fashion Studies Degree

Installation in response to exploitation of garment workers

Polly Pocock

North Devon School of Art

FdA Fine Art

‘Designing Happiness’

Anna Vening

Chelsea College of Art and Design

BA Textile Design

The Case for Sustainable Fashion: Organic and Sustainable Textile Seminar for Brands and Retailers

“21st Century supply chain management calls for innovative mindsets and specialized methodologies. Escalating oil prices, climate change, consumer awareness, water shortages, child labor, biodiversity, landscape management, transparency, pesticide management – all these elements impact on sourcing decisions, the supply chain and how we deliver product to the consumer.” (OE-MB Sustainable Fashion Seminars)

The Seminar is a unique 2 day intensive aimed to bring textile and apparel professionals working within the industry up to speed on opportunities to create responsible change within their supply chain.

Title: The Case for Sustainable Fashion: Organic and Sustainable Textile Seminar for Brands and Retailers
Location: London
Link out: Click here
Description :

“Some of the important topics covered include:

Environmentally Friendly Fabrics – Understand the Definition, Sourcing and Production Issues,
A discussion on Recycled Polyester and Climate Neutral Clothing,
Responsible Processing – The Good The Bad & The Ugly of Dyeing and Finishing Industry,
Product Integrity – Certification, Labeling, Transparency and Traceability,
Social Compliance – Understand the Different Systems and Learn The Actual Work Done,
Setting Sustainability Strategy – Learn from the Perspective of Leading Brands, Their Pitfalls, Triumphs and Lessons Learned,
Communication Strategy – How Sustainability and Branding Strengthen Each Other?
Fashion and Consumer Trends Towards Sustainability in Europe.

Participants will be encouraged to be critical, ask questions and share experiences during discussions. It would be an excellent place to actively share knowledge and information and to network at every possible level.

It is of our main intention that you will leave this event with:

Practical and in-depth sustainability strategies that can be used by your business,
A roadmap of action – a clear idea of what needs to be done, and how,
A new set of meaningful contacts.

Who would benefit most from this seminar?

If you are involved in supply chain management, buying, designing, fabric sourcing, marketing, CSR or are a professional and manager of a clothing brand or retailer, this seminar will assist you to initiate and develop your sustainable textile and apparel programme.
By attending, you will provide your company with an excellent return on investment as you meet with your peers, expand your knowledge of sustainable textiles, and find new opportunities for innovation, risk reduction/brand protection, and cost savings.

Please contact Nany Trivita Kusuma for additional details or questions” (event description directly sourced through OE-MB Sustainable Fashion Seminars)

Start Date: 2009-11-19
End Date: 2009-11-20

Source: CSF and OE-MB Sustainable Fashion Seminars

BSR Conference 2009

Title: BSR Conference 2009
Location: San Francisco, CA
Link out: Click here

The 2009 BSR Conference kicks off tonight in San Francisco with a Human Rights Networking Reception starting at 5:30pm. Of the many interesting panel sessions, including “Integrating Sustainability into Sourcing, Design, and Production of Products” with Amy Leonard and Erik Joule from Levi Strauss & Co’s, Hannah Jones will be discussing Nike’s Considered Design Ethos during the panel “Integrating Sustainability into Corporate Innovation” at 4:30 on Oct. 22^nd.

We’ve mentioned Nike’s Considered Design Ethos before (see Nike Talks Trash and Nike: Considered Design Ethos, Steve Nash and the “Sixty Million Dollar Man”).

Check out this article on Greenbiz to learn more about Nike’s Considered Design initiative.

Description:

“In a world that’s been ‘reset’ by a trio of global crises—the sharp worldwide recession, accelerating climate change, and a collapse of trust in business—the implication and opportunities for business are enormous.

“Now more than ever, innovative sustainability strategies are needed to deliver business value today, and position companies to successfully meet the greater challenges ahead. The BSR Conference is an essential opportunity to learn how to leverage your resources, implement changes, and succeed in a world where business as usual is no longer viable.

“Don’t miss your chance to be part of one of the largest and most influential communities of corporate responsibility leaders, at what Forbes.com ranks among the top 12 influential executive gatherings for 2009. A new, restructured format with more—and more varied—session time than ever before means that you will be able to customize your agenda with the topics, level, and length of sessions that are right for you. Any way you design it, the BSR Conference will deliver a practical and interactive learning experience, unrivaled access to industry experts, and the knowledge you need to lead in a ‘reset world.’” (BSR)

Start Date: 2009-10-20
End Date: 2009-10-23

Source: GreenBiz and BSR

SCHMATTA: RAGS TO RICHES TO RAGS//HBO Documentary

“A cautionary story of labor and greed, Schmatta: Rags to Riches to Rags follows the decline of the once-robust apparel manufacturing industry in the U.S., while chronicling the industry’s relationship with unions and government. From the “Garmento” to the seamstress, from the designer to the marketing maven, from the small businessman to the financier, Schmatta offers a firsthand account of how the industry helped generations of Americans march out of poverty and right into the golden age of the American middle class. But while Schmatta reminds us of the early days of the garment industry and its heyday, it also probes its troubling decline, which has occurred largely within the last 30 years. In 1965, 95% of American clothing was made in the U.S.A.; by 2009, only 5% is manufactured here.

Director Marc Levin focuses his lens on Manhattan’s Garment District, an eight-block area on Manhattan’s West Side which gave birth to the domestic industrial labor movement, and played a key role in major American political activities. From its immigrant origins in the 19th Century, the labor movement rose quickly against deplorable sweatshop conditions. In recent years, however, the realities of automation, deregulation, globalization and outsourcing – all part of the race to the bottom line – eventually eroded the industry’s unprecedented momentum (more)” (HBO Synopsis)

Click here to read the review by Women’s Wear Daily, “HBO Heads Inside the Garment Center” by Rosemary Feitelberg.

Premieres Oct. 19 th-click here for showtimes.

Source: NLC and HBO

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 you have an upcoming event you think are readers would be interested in, be sure to drop us a line.

avoiding dirty cotton//resources

Retailers have a responsibility to understand the social and environmental impacts of the products they sell. Unfortunately, “the cotton supply chain is fragmented, complex and not very transparent.” (CREM, 7) Although CREM’s new handbook, “Sustainable cotton on the shelves,” was developed with mainstream retailers to in mind, it can also be used as a tool for apparel / textile/ fashion (etc.) designers to turn to for help on getting more educated on the fibre.

Designers have a responsibility to understand the true social and environmental consequences of their designs. “While efforts are being made to have full traceability of conventional cotton, at present such a system does not exist (to date only certified cotton is fully traceable).” (7) The use of conventional cotton is an irresponsible design choice. While fully sustainable cotton is not an option, this handbook will guide you through the in’s and out’s of initiatives, certification, third-parties, retailers and the better cotton initiative. The guide also breaks down industry definitions and categories.

*If you are a design educator, the guide contains excellent visual aids. For example, “How Clean is my Cotton?” (pg.5) could be useful when explaining the social, environmental, and economic impact of cotton production to your design students.

*If you are a designer, please be sure to also read this report by Urs Heierli “Where Farmer and Fashion Designer Meet: Globalization with a Human Face in an Organic Cotton Value Chain.”

*If you are a design enthusiast, please, spread the word.

About the report:

“Using the perspective of new-comers in the world of sustainable cotton, the handbook attempts to explain complex issues in an accessible manner, answering the key questions that textile retail managers, buyers or marketers may face: What type of sustainable cotton is the most suitable for my business? Can I source it from my own supply chain, at what conditions? Is there a consumer demand for sustainable cotton? What are my options if I am a small or medium sized retailer?

Through concrete questions and straightforward answers, the handbook provides an overview of issues and trends in the production and marketing of sustainable cotton. The handbook ”Sustainable cotton on the shelves” is the outcome of a project run in the Netherlands by the retailers HEMA and de Bijenkorf, the Dutch association for large textile retailers (VGT), the NGOs Oxfam Novib and WWF, and the consultancy CREM.

Pascale Guillou, senior consultant at CREM, says “We are extremely pleased that the result of this two-year research and consultation process with numerous stakeholders can be widely shared with mainstream retailers. We hope that this handbook will help textile retailers making strategic decisions and operational choices at a time when they experience the will or the need to better perform on a triple bottom line”

Click here to download the handbook.

Source: EcoTextile News and CREM

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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.

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Visit Social Alterations