Category Archives: DESIGN

WATCH// Nadira Lamrad on CSR in China’s Apparel Supply Chain

SA’s Nadira Lamrad presented her research, “CSR Trends in China’s Apparel Supply Chain,” at the FEI conference on March 2nd.

The workshop, titled “New Approaches in Education and Industry,” was chaired by industry consultant Maggie Burns, and speaking alongside Nadira was Dr. Matilda Tham, professor of fashion at Beckmans College of Design in Stockholm. Tham’s presentation was titled “Lucky People Forecast Approach: How can education support engagement with systemic sustainable fashion futures?”

The workshop generated some interesting questions and concerns surrounding education in CSR, and we’re hoping we can keep the conversation going here, so be sure to leave any comments and questions below.

CSR Trends in China’s Apparel Supply Chain from Social Alterations on Vimeo.

A Message from the NLC

Yesterday we posted a link on our Facebook Fan Page on the tragic factory fire in Bangladesh on Feb. 25th that killed 21 workers (mostly women) and injured 31 more.

Below is a message today from the National Labor Committee (NLC):

Urgent Action Alert

Please help. No more needless and tragic deaths!

On the night of February 25, a fire broke out at the Garib & Garib sweater factory in Bangladesh, leaving 25 to 30 workers trapped in the pitch darkness on the 6th floor. The emergency exit was locked and the other staircase was cluttered with bales of yarn and boxes. The workers, 16 of them women, died of smoke inhalation. Thirty-one workers on the lower floors were also injured.

The factory produces for H&M, Mark’s Work Wearhouse (Canada) and, according to H&M, Terenora of Italy and Zemman of Spain.

The workers are asking us to support their demands to the companies (attached) in order to guarantee the health and safety standards and labor rights will finally be respected.

For more information and photos go to the NLC’s website

Please help! Send a letter to the companies

Source: NLC

WATCH// Social Alterations @ FEI

Here are just two of the videos we took at the conference. We have more videos to come, so stay tuned for those.

The first video is of my Pecha Kucha talk. I’ll be posting the slides and my notes a little later on. Please contact us if you have any questions on the works cited in the presentation.

Social Alterations @ FEI from Social Alterations on Vimeo.

The Environmental Justice Foundation (EJF) held the table next to ours during the Market Place on day two of the conference. We asked them what exactly responsible fashion meant to the EJF, and for their thoughts on why designers should care.

FEI Conference 006 from Social Alterations on Vimeo.

Pesticide Action Network (PAN) was also there, asking participants “what organic cotton means…..to me”. Pictured above is Nadira Lamrad (right) with her answer.

Hacking Fashion w/ Otto von Busch

One of the headliners at the conference was Otto von Busch (Haute-Couture Heretic – critically hacking and re-forming the operating system of fashion and the industrial modes of production). The presentation “Hacking Fashion” was absolutely fabulous, and when it came time for Otto to close his presentation, nobody wanted it to end!

Investigating ‘rituals of fashion,’ Otto discussed the role of fashion in activism and asked: are we still open to invest emotionally in fashion?

With fashion week, we celebrate the arrival of spring, and then when the new season comes into play, we ritualistically slaughter off the old to celebrate the new.

According to Otto, designers believe in intelligent design, meaning that what they do is extremely unique.

He asked some interesting questions:

Why do we slaughter fashion at the end of fashion?
What does this repetitive ritual mean?
Has the emotion been lost?

Other questions surrounded the consequences of the democratization of fashion, and so much more.

This is just a small reflection on Otto’s presentation. Stay tuned for a full roundup of Hacking Fashion: How can we participate in fashion differently to build an industry that nurtures both maker and wearers?

In the meantime, check out >self_passage<, a project that explores empowerment, self-development, and personal growth through fashion.

“The selfpassage projects try to bend the power of fashion into a force to achieve a positive personal and social condition with which the Everyperson is free to grow to his/her full potential by means of engaged fashion practices” (>self_passage<)

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!

Fashion Futures

Fashion Futures, a new report out of Forum for the Future in partnership with Levis Strauss & Co., has predicted 4 scenarios for the future of the fashion industry (see below).

Here is an excerpt from the Executive Summary:

“Fashion Futures is a call for a sustainable fashion industry. We want companies in all sectors to wake up to the immense challenges that are already shaping our world, to address the serious risks and seize the rich opportunities they present. It’s designed to help them take action which will safeguard their future, protect our environment and improve the lives of their customers, workers and suppliers around the world.” (Fashion Futures, pg. 5)

Slow is Beautiful

Slow is Beautiful from Alex Johnson on Vimeo.

Community Couture

Community Couture from Alex Johnson on Vimeo.

Techno-Chic

Techno-Chic from Alex Johnson on Vimeo.

Patchwork planet

Patchwork Planet from Alex Johnson on Vimeo.

Tracing Trash

Trash of Your Society (T.O.Y.S.), an art project of theSYNdicate, is on tour investigating the after-life-cycle of products, or artefacts (a.k.a. trash). Do you know what happens to your products once you’ve tossed them?

Here is part of ‘The Concept’:

The footsteps or traces that refuse leaves internationally, are the subject of the art project of theSYNdicate: how countries deal with refuse in different parts of the world; the global cycle of refuse; the dimensions of European refuse in Africa.

Transport routes of primary products as well as of finished consumer goods cover long distances, in this globalised world, with many stages, and with goods passing through many hands: sometimes transported goods describe a cycle, other times goods travel in a more one-dimensional perspective.

At the end of a cycle, for example, a number of high quality goods from the southern parts of the world land in Europe, to be sold at high prices, with a hefty profit margin – which drives turnover and stock exchange assets. African countries (and other continents and countries with similar social and economic conditions) are the destination, the recipients, of refuse: the results of agrarian over-production, electronic junk, garments (often second hand clothes), and many similar goods. In this cycle, the places that are the countries of origin (right at the start of the cycle), are left mainly with refuse and package material. Africa – the First World‘s testing ground or laboratory, and self-service shop.

You can buy stock in the project for 35Euro, and receive a piece of upcycled art.

Follow along their journey through the TOYS Blog. The images and stories may surprise you!

Source: psfk

Images via the TOYSTOUR

Washing Machine + Soccer Ball + Hippo Roller + Storage Unit = ‘Swirl’

Meet Design Affairs’ ‘Swirl’!

Here is the product description:

Swirl is a human focused design that simplifies washing in developing countries. The overall design resembles a ball containing a swirled sphere shaped basket and lid, connected to a steel tube handle. Washing is accomplished through the rotation of the “washing ball” – using long distance travelling to and from water supply to wash the clothes. The user can also wash by just rolling it back and forth in slow rotation cycles. At home, after the basket is filled with clothes, the lid should be screwed and the handle locked in. Transportation can easily be done by pulling or pushing the handle. At the water source, the basket should be filled with water and the product is ready to wash.

The design resembles Project H’s Hippo Roller. Speaking of Project H… they are in the running to win an amazing prize that would help them to:

Start a high school design/build program in rural North Carolina….

To cultivate a culture of creative capital in a struggling economy.
To provide a hands-on learning path for low-performing students.
To teach design and vocational skills as creative problem solving.
To activate a poor and rural community through high school service.
To complete real-world, built projects with high school students.

Sounds pretty amazing to us! Education is the key point of intervention for responsible design. Click here to vote for their idea. As I type this they are ranked 15^th and they must get to at least 10^th place to qualify! You can vote everyday until the end of the month.

Source: Inhabitots, Core77 and Design Affairs

Social Biomimicry: Insect Societies and Human Design

How might ‘social biomimicry’ influence design within the context of socially, culturally, environmentally, and economically responsible systems of fashion? While this conference may not directly focus on fashion at the stage of design conception, it does concentrate on other stages, such as manufacturing, communications, transportation, and green building. Indirectly, lessons learned at all stages of the lifecycle should influence the designer at the early phases of initial conception.

“A pioneering collaboration among biologists, designers, engineers, and businesspeople, Social Biomimicry: Insect Societies and Human Design is a conference organized by graduate students and supported by the Frontiers in Life Sciences program at Arizona State University. This conference will explore how the collective behavior and nest architecture of social insects can inspire more efficient and sustainable solutions to human challenges in areas such as manufacturing, communications, transportation, and green building. It will facilitate interdisciplinary exchange of concepts, perspectives, and tools that may enrich biology and advance biomimetic design. Finally, it will address fundamental issues in social biomimicry, including its ethical and psychological implications. We invite you to join us for this exciting event February 18 – 20, 2010 at the Memorial Union, Arizona State University, Tempe Campus.” (ASU)

Title: Social Biomimicry: Insect Societies and Human Design
Location: Arizona State University
Link out: Click here

Start Date: 2010-02-18
End Date: 2010-02-20

Source: Core77 and ASU

Bamboo// Continued Misconceptions

With the current spotlight on ‘green’ fashion over at Vogue U.K. via Livia Firth and the Green Carpet Challenge, we were surprised to see bamboo as designer Linda Loudermilk’s fibre of choice for Colin Firth’s suit at the premier of Tom Ford’s “A Single Man” in Paris.

Despite the comments out of Loudermilk’s office, we’re not quite convinced it was a responsible choice. Even if we were to believe that this bamboo was in fact not rayon, meaning that it was mechanically processed, not chemically processed, and that such mechanical processing was done without violating any human rights, we still think it’s an inappropriate fibre to showcase due to the global misconceptions on the use of bamboo as a responsible fibre both within and outside of the ecofashion movement.

Why not utilize the opportunity to showcase this design in linen, hemp or peace silk?

Here is a refresher on the potential social and environmental (not to mention cultural and economic) consequences of the use of Bamboo fibre, taken from our Fibre Analysis:

Still don’t believe us? Still not convinced? Read more on treehugger, the Competition Bureau of Canada, and Ecotextile News (re: FTC).

What do you think readers? When will the bamboo rayon train leave the ecofashion station?!?!

Source: treehugger and Vogue UK