Category Archives: Socially Responsible Design

Hong Kong Textile Conference Includes Eco-Component

 

Interstoff Asia Essential Spring 2009 Seminar Program includes an eco-textile panel component. The conference runs from March 18-20th, 2009. The eco-session on the 19th asks “Can sustainability survive the global credit crunch?” The panel was co-organized with Eco Textile News.

 

Brand Session:

Harsha Vardhan, H&M and Hans Buehr, Head of Purchasing, Triumph International. The session will be moderated by Mr. John Mowbray, Editor of Eco Textile News.

 

Supplier Session:

Mr. Paul Mui, Head of Business Management Textile Chemicals East Asia, BASF (China) Co Ltd. The moderator for this session has yet to be determined.

 

The second session on March 18th, titled “Supply Chain Management, CSR and the New Classification System of Interstoff”, will feature Mr Karl Borgschulze, Systain Consulting, Hong Kong.

 

As cited here on the registration form:

 

Mr Borgschulze will introduce the latest trends in the area of CSR and supply chain management in six aspects:

  • Social aspects along the supply chain
  • Climate change and its relevance for fabric supplier
  • Sustainable reporting along the supply chain
  • The new classification system
  • The integration of existing standards into the system
  • Opportunities for exhibitors and visitors

Mr Borgschulze who has more than 20 years’ experience in international supply chain management and in ecological optimization of value chains majoring in the textile sector, is the Managing Director of Systain Consulting Asia. Mr Borgschulze was involved in the development of a number of ecological standards such as Pure Wear, bioRe® and the IVN standard, and has since 1999 been a member of the Scientific Advisory Council of the German DTNW Textiles Research Centre in Krefeld. Mr Borgschulze has extensive project experience across the continent from Europe to Asia.

 

Source: Eco Textile News, Interstoff Asia Essential and Messe Frankfurt Hong Kong

Global Surplus in Organic Cotton Production

 

According to this article by Eco-Textile News, although 2008 saw an increase in demand for organic cotton by 33%, global production was left with an 8% surplus. The article cites information released by non-profit Organic Exchange, who also claim that demand for organic cotton will likely result in a 24% increase in 2009 an worry that inventory will remain too high.

 

The Organic Cotton Market Report will be available in Feb 2009 for review.

FEI Conference

 

Clean Clothes Campaign via FEI

A home worker's work bench in Belgrade, Credit: Clean Clothes Campaign via FEI

Fashioning an Ethical Industry: Putting Ethics into Practice March 11th, 2009

 

This is a one day conference that will bring together experts in ethical fashion, as well as students and tutors, to discuss the current state of the ethical fashion industry, and ways to put ethics into practice. There is no question this will be an excellent conference.

 

You can read more about this year’s conference and speakers here.

To read a report on last year’s event click here, or to listen to a podcast, click here.

Source: FEI

The nature of your garment is to fall apart?

 

 

Another interesting article taken from The Independent today, discussed some frustrations in dealing with products that not only fall apart, but are designed to fall apart.

 

Thought it might be time for another poll.




Fast fashion to blame for female consumer complaints in the UK

 

Consumer complaints in the UK surrounding poorly made clothing increased by 22% in 2008, according to this article by The Independent. The article cites a report by Consumer Direct released today. It claims that the biggest consumer complaint amongst females came from ‘defective goods’, at 34%.

 

According to the article, “[i]n the past five years, with the rise of “value” retailers, the price of clothing has fallen by as much as 25 per cent, while shoppers have bought almost 40 per cent more garments. This suggests fast fashion may be behind the increase in problem items.”

 

The article also cites statistics from another report, released by Global Cool, stating that female shoppers spent £11 billion on clothes that were never worn last year.

 

Fast fashion has created systems that cycle through clothing at a speed impossible for consumers to keep up with, and impossible to produce proper value items.

 

What an incredible waste.

Compostmodern 09

 

If you’re interested in sustainable design, check out the Compostmodern 09 conference. The event will be available as a webcast, so you only have to worry about the long commute to your office, living room, kitchen table, or bed to get there.

 

Feb 21st is the big day/40$ webcast registration

 

This years scheduled speakers:

Eames Demetrios/Eames Office

Saul Griffith/Makani Power

Allan Chochinov/Core 77

Nathan Shedroff/MBA Chair, California College of the Arts (CCA)

Michel Gelobter, John Bielenberg and Pam Dorr/Project M and HERO Housing Resource, Alabama

Emily Pilloton/Project H Design

Dawn Danby/Sustainable Design Program Manager, Autodesk

 

Emcee: Joel Makower/GreenBiz

 

What does this have to do with sustainable fashion?

 

Compostmodern is a design conference dedicated to creating a platform for discussion on sustainable design practices. The interdisciplinary nature of the conference has created a network of information sharing that is relevant to discussions in sustainable fashion/textile design practices, as design is interdisciplinary. Last year, Mark Galabraith, discussed the nature of the sustainable filters used to create outdoor clothing company Nau Clothing, Inc. In his presentation, Galabraith discusses the clothing company as wanting to participate in the industry not as a brand, but rather as a cultural movement.

Some of the design questions he mentions as particularly central to the development of Nau Clothing, Inc. are issues surrounding durability, ease of repair, multi-use, raw material (biodegradability and treatment of animals) and impacts within manufacturing processes. He also speaks of the challenges associated with harmonizing urban sensibility with outdoor performance in a way that questions the ‘aesthetic point for sustainability’.

 

What I found particularly interesting is the company’s warehouse approach (coupled with a showroom boutique) used to hold merchandise. Although customers are able to take their product home immediately, a 10% is available to customers who are willing to have their garment sent to them. The company also boasts a recycle program (end of life strategy) where old products can be reused to be transformed into new ones (polyester used as a post-consumer material)

 

The key to Nau Clothing, Inc. is flexible design. 

 

Check out Galabraith, and other speakers from last year’s conference here.

Check out more from Nau Clothing, Inc., like this men’s riding jacket, here.

 

Nau Clothing, Inc. Men's Riding Jacket

Nau Clothing, Inc. Men's Riding Jacket

Objectified

Check out the trailer to Objectified: A DocumentaryFilm by Gary Hustwit…

“Objectified is a feature-length independent documentary about industrial design. It’s a look at the creativity at work behind everything from toothbrushes to tech gadgets. It’s about the people who re-examine, re-evaluate and re-invent our manufactured environment on a daily basis. It’s about personal expression, identity, consumerism, and sustainability. It’s about our relationship to mass-produced objects and, by extension, the people who design them.

Through vérité footage and in-depth conversations, the film documents the creative processes of some of the world’s most influential designers, and looks at how the things they make impact our lives. What can we learn about who we are, and who we want to be, from the objects with which we surround ourselves?”

Source: Objectified, “About the film”

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i4zJxCEQMTY]

ZARA and the right to freedom of association

 

A recent campaign from UNITE HERE Canada claims that the right to freedom of association is at stake for employees at ZARA, in Montréal, Quebec. According to a recent press release, “ZARA has engaged in conduct which may have violated the Québec Labour Code. This has included demoting two employees who led a union drive at ZARA’s downtown Montreal store, firing four employees who supported the union at ZARA’s Rockland Mall store, and holding anti-union meetings at three Montreal stores, in one case telling employees that joining a union is ‘treason’ against the company.”

 

Click here to view the press release.

feeling fashionably overweight?

The “Household Textile Environmental Impact Calculator” wants your closet to think about going on a diet.

The calculator asseses you based on annual water usage, energy usage, use of non-renewable resources, and pollution. Unfortunately the calculator doesn’t account for non conventional fabrics, such as hemp. What is impressive however, is the fact that the calculator takes you through the lifecycle of your garments: purchasing, care, and disposal.

The year is almost up, so Dec. marks a perfect time to start calculating and re-calculating to think about consumption practices for the year ahead. It doesn’t take long to calculate your annual textile environmental impact, and you may be surprised at how easy it is. I don’t know about the accuracy of it all, but one thing is for sure: the exercise promotes the process of  reflecting on the lifecycle of your waredrobe.

So how did you rank?



 

Source: In the Loop and Ecotextile News

Message from the Asian Human Rights Commission on the 60th Anniversary of UDHR

Many textile and apparel companies boast a commitment to operating within the legal frameworks of the countries in which they manufacture. It would seem only reasonable to expect as much (Congratulations! You didn’t break the law!). Considering the standard of human rights within such countries, should this fact be celebrated?

December 10th marked the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. In this video, Basil Fernando, CEO of the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC), highlights the issue of “non-rule of law”. According to Fernando, the last 60 years of Human Rights has only worked to establish the conversation of rights. He hopes the next 60 years will see the realization and achievement of Human Rights. On this 60th anniversary, I hope that consumers will consider the standard of the law within the countries their garments are produced, and support companies that promote international labour standards rather than those that hide behind frameworks of corrupt legal systems.

The AHRC has released their annual report on the state of human rights in 11 countries (Bangladesh, Burma, Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Nepal, Pakistan, the Philippines, the Republic of Korea, Sri Lanka and Thailand). You can download country reports here

The AHRC also works to document the countless human rights violations taking place in Asia. To receive notification of the AHRC Urgent Requests, just subscribe to their mailing list. Once you receive an urgent request, it only takes a few seconds to follow the link and send the letter of complaint they have already written for you to the appropriate individuals. You can subscribe here.

[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PkWWWulqanQ]