Category Archives: Education

The University of Delaware’s Sustainable Apparel Initiative (UDSAI)

University of Delaware’s Sustainable Apparel Initiative offers ten policies for apparel brands and retailers to implement into their business practices. Click here to learn more about the policies and the initiative. Although all ten policies are crucial considerations for sustainable practices, “Policy 5: Consider and implement end-of-life strategies (recycle, renew, or reuse) when choosing materials, designing, and producing apparel”  pays particular attention to design through suggested best practices in both material and design assembly considerations. In the context of socially responsible fashion design education, how can these policies be integrated into your fashion curriculum? Early next week, Social Alterations will be opening a members based discussion forum for fashion and apparel educators to ask questions and share ideas on how to best approach social and environmental concerns within the industry in their design classrooms. I hope you will join in on the conversation and share your ideas with this community.

Press Release: UD publishes sustainable apparel business guidelines

What does it mean for a clothing or footwear company to be environmentally sustainable? Browsing some brands’ Web sites, you might think a company can lessen its impact on the environment just by using organic cotton in some of its clothing. But it’s not that simple.

The University of Delaware’s Sustainable Apparel Initiative (UDSAI) is demystifying the process of becoming more environmentally sustainable for brands and retailers. Companies seeking this information are invited to read and utilize UDSAI’s recently produced policy guide, “Creating a More Environmentally Sustainable Apparel Business: Policies for Apparel Brands and Retailers.”

“Sustainability is the ‘buzz’ throughout all industries. The problem is there is no clear definition of what this means,” said Rick Horwitch of Bureau Veritas Consumer Products Services. Bureau Veritas is an international firm that helps clients comply with standards and regulations relating to quality, health and safety, environment and social responsibility.

“I applaud the University of Delaware for taking on this daunting task of trying to put some structure and context around this very important issue. UDSAI will help bring clarity and direction,” Horwitch said.

University of Delaware faculty and students collaborated with industry professionals involved with environmental sustainability to research best practices.

“The apparel industry is predicated on change and planned obsolescence, which often results in overconsumption and waste throughout the value chain,” said Huantian Cao, UD associate professor of fashion and apparel studies and co-director of UDSAI. “UDSAI attempts to provide some simple guidelines that, when followed, will result in a more sustainable company.”

Source: UD News Releases

Makower talks Greenwash

TerraChoice: Sin of the Hidden Trade-off

TerraChoice: Sin of the Hidden Trade-off

 

 

Back in April, TerraChoice released their second report on greenwashing, titled “The Seven Sins of Greenwashing.” The first report, “The Six Sins of Greenwashing,” came out in 2007. The recent report offers new stats and, of course, the added seventh sin. Unfortunately, fashion, textile and apparel products were not included in the TerraChoice research. Don’t let this fool you; greenwashing is rampant in the fashion, textile and apparel industry.

 

Joel Makower from Greenbiz offers a great commentary on the report, outlining where, and how, it may have fallen short:

“Late last year, TerraChoice repeated the process, though extended its reach: Its researchers were sent into retailers in the U.S., Canada, the U.K., and Australia. The track record was slightly better: 25 products found in North American stores were deemed “sin-free,” says TerraChoice. The trends were similar in the other countries.

At first glance, those findings seem dire and depressing. But much like some of the eco-claims themselves, TerraChoice’s report doesn’t hold up to scrutiny. What’s really going on here? Are manufacturers truly that overwhelmingly misleading? Is just about everyone out there pulling the green wool over our collective eyes? Or has TerraChoice set a bar so unreasonably high that even the most well-intentioned companies can’t clear it, and lumped the imperfect claims together with the truly bad ones in order to make its point? In other words, who’s greenwashing who?

Truth is, there’s a little of each going on.

First, honor is due. TerraChoice has performed a public service here, calling attention to the fact that so many companies are making claims that are anything from fuzzy to fraudulent. The groundwork they’ve done here is invaluable, even if the conclusions they’ve drawn from it are, in my opinion, a bit misleading.”

Read the rest of his article here. Make sure you check out the full TerraChoice report.

For more information, listen in on this Greenbiz.com Podcast, “Lies, Damn Lies, and the Seventh Sin of Greenwashing,” where Makower interviews Scot Case, Vice President of TerraChoice on the issue of greenwashing and the 2009 report.

 

Stay informed!

 

Source: TerraChoice, Joel Makower, and Greenbiz.com

cradle to cradle

Just added William McDonough’s TED talk on ‘cradle to cradle’ design theory to the videos section. You will also find Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things in the suggested reading section of the site.

“I think we have a design problem.” (William McDonough’s, TED)

upcoming FEI events

Image Source: Fashioning an Ethical Industry (FEI)

Image Source: Fashioning an Ethical Industry (FEI)

 7th July 2009

Teaching Ethical Fashion

“A Fashioning an Ethical Industry tutor training day and official launch of Sustainable Fashion: A Handbook for Educators edited by Liz Parker for Fashioning an Ethical Industry, UK, and Dr Marsha A. Dickson for Educators for Socially Responsible Apparel Business, USA.

This event will bring together educators from fashion-related courses and organisations around the country to share ideas and resources, and support tutors in teaching about ethical fashion. The day is aimed at tutors on any fashion-related further or higher education course who are looking to be inspired and share best practice with other tutors.

The event will also launch the HEA funded research, being coordinated by the Centre For Sustainable Fashion at London College of Fashion, into the needs and expectations of fashion industry employers in relation to sustainable education within fashion related courses at HE.

The event will take place at London College of Fashion between 9.30 – 4.30.” (FEI)

Direct Source: Fashioning an Ethical Industry (FEI)

The Cotton Conundrum

 

sustainable-cotton-project

Nowadays, when it comes to cotton, you can pretty much take your ‘pick’: low-chemical, organic, low-water use, fair trade, conventional. So what’s all the hype this week about organic cotton? Well, Organic Exchange released their 2007-2008 Organic Cotton Market Report.

 

According to this article:

 

“Global retail sales of organic cotton apparel and home textile products climbed 63 percent in 2008 to $3.2 billion […]

 

‘Despite the global retail outlook, most brands and retailers selling organic cotton products remain committed to their sustainability plans and upbeat about market growth with plans to expand their product lines 24 and 33 percent in 2009 and 2010, respectively, to result in an estimated $4 billion market in 2009 and a $5.3 billion market in 2010,’ the report said.

 

The amount of organic cotton farmers grew worldwide in 2007/08 increased 152 percent, according to the 2008 Organic Cotton Farm and Fiber Report.

The amount hit 145,872 metric tons, which is equivalent to 668,581 (480-lb.) bales. It was grown on 161,000 hectares (400,000 acres) in 22 countries worldwide.

Organic production is based on a system of farming that maintains and replenishes soil fertility without using pesticides, fertilizers or genetically modified seeds.”

 

Keep in mind, just because the cotton is certified organic, doesn’t necessarily make it the best defence against the many negative effects of conventional cotton.

 

Take, for example, the Sustainable Cotton Project (SCP).  The low-chemical system of  biological integrated pest management (IPM) helps farmers reduce chemical usage at a much larger scale than what would be achieved through a smaller number of completely organic cotton farms. This approach looks toward the overall impact of the sector, rather than just on one farm at a time. To help growers and consumers make sense of the difference, the project has developed an online calculator. Buyers and growers can use the calculator as a means of comparing the ecological footprint of BASIC (biological agricultural systems in cotton) against conventional cotton. The ecological calculator measures land, water and carbon footprints. I haven’t used the calculator (as I am neither a cotton buyer nor grower) and would like to welcome anyone who has used it, or who is interested in using it, to leave a comment with some feedback on the success/failure of the SCP initiative. What impresses me most about SCP is their involvement in sustainable fashion design education. Based out of California, the SCP initiative has partnered with California College of the Arts and The Academy of Art educating fashion design students in the area of sustainable design through the BASIC program. This is exciting.

 

Social Impact?

 

Missing from most footprint calculators is a fibre’s social impact. But, how do you measure a social footprint? How do you measure happiness? Certified Fairtrade cotton is not always organic, so what is it?

 

According to the Fairtrade Foundation

 

“The Mark is an independent product certification label which guarantees that cotton farmers are getting a better deal – receiving a fair and stable Fairtrade price and Fairtrade premium, receiving pre-financing where requested and benefiting from longer-term, more direct trading relationships.

 

The Fairtrade minimum price is set at the farm gate level and is based on actual costs of sustainable production. If the local market price is higher than this minimum price, then the market price applies. An additional payment of a Fairtrade premium is set aside for farmers’ organisations to spend on social and environmental projects or to strengthen their businesses. This ensures that communities have the power and resources to invest in long-term improvements. Elected farmer committees decide democratically how these premiums are spent.”

 

Organic Cotton ≠ Fair Trade Cotton: Responsible fashion is not just about being ‘organic’.

 

“All Fairtrade certified cotton producers are required to demonstrate increased diligence in choosing appropriate non-harmful chemicals or a biological or home-made alternative wherever possible. As would be expected, farmers are prohibited from using pesticides in the Pesticide Action Network’s “dirty dozen” list and those in the FAO/UNEP’s Prior Informed Consent Procedure list.”

 

According to Kate Fletcher, “[t]he total area of land dedicated to cotton growing has not changed significantly for around 80 years, but in that time output has tripled” (8). Fletcher directly associates the increase in production to a swell in pesticide and fertilizer use, and recommends organic, low chemical, hand-picked, rain-fed, or drip-irrigated cotton as alternatives, or using hemp or flax as a fibre substitution (9). A rise in consumer awareness about the negative effects of conventional cotton on the environment has no doubt created the business case for companies to begin to source organic cotton.

 

Top 10 companies:

 

1. Wal-Mart (USA)
2. C&A (Belgium)
3. Nike (USA)
4. H&M (SE)
5. Zara (Spain)
6. Anvil (USA)
7. Coop Switzerland
8. Pottery Barn (USA)
9. Greensource (USA)
10. Hess Natur (Germany).

 

But how have companies such as these been able to incorporate organic cotton into their production lines? According to Fletcher, “[u]nlike more politically contentious and technically challenging ‘alternative’ fibres such as hemp, organic cotton fibre is a fairly straightforward like-for-like substitute for conventionally grown cotton” (21). And what stands in the way of an increased use in organic cotton? Apparently the answer is supply. According to Fletcher, “organic cotton makes up a tiny percentage (0.18 per cent) of the world fibre demand and around 1 per cent of the total cotton market.” (21)

 

So what does all this mean? When searching for sustainable fibres make sure to consider the entire lifecycle of that fibre (both environmental and social). Eliminating pesticide use is only part of the solution. Let’s not forget to think outside the crop.

 

 

Source: Greenbiz, Fairtrade, Reuters, SCP and Sustainable Fashion & Textiles: Design Journeys, by Kate Fletcher

Women Exploiting Women

 

The National Labor Committee released a report last week citing sweatshop conditions in a Guatemalan factory manufacturing clothing for Briggs New York (80%) and Lane Bryant (remaining 20%) clothing.

 

If you don’t want to read the full article, here is the abstract:

 

“Young Mayan women sew Briggs New York and Lane Bryant clothing under abusive and illegal sweatshop conditions at the Nicotex factory outside Guatemala City.  Women in the U.S. are unknowingly purchasing clothing made by other women who are being exploited.

All overtime at the Nicotex factory is mandatory, and 14 2/3-hour shifts, from 7:00 a.m. to 9:40 p.m. including six hours of overtime, are uncommon.  The women are routinely at the factory up to 72 hours, forced to toil 20 to 25 hours of overtime.  Women unable to remain for overtime work, even if they have family emergencies, are fired.  The workers are allowed just 10.2 minutes to sew each Briggs New York blouse for which they are paid 19 ½ cents.  The women and their families are trapped in extreme poverty, earning just 76 cents to $1.15 an hour, which comes nowhere close to meeting even their most basic subsistence level needs.

Workers and their children are cheated of health and maternity care, including paid maternity leave, which they paid for and is supposed to be guaranteed under Guatemalan law.  Workers are also robbed of their vacation and severance pay and are shortchanged of their legal bonuses.

 

  • The Nicotex garment workers have no rights.  U.S. company audits are a sham, and the workers have never even heard of a “corporate code of conduct.”
  • At least some officials of the government-run Social Security Institute appear to be involved in a widespread corruption scam, along with factories such as Nicotex, to defraud the workers and their children of the healthcare they pay for.  This scam is an open secret in Guatemala, and it has devastating consequences for the workers.
  • The Nicotex sweatshop is just another example of how the U.S.-Central America Free Trade Agreement has badly failed to enforce even Guatemala’s most minimal labor laws.   US-CAFTA has certainly not empowered workers through respect for their legal rights, nor has it helped raise them out of extreme poverty.”

                                                                                                                                    Source: NLC

For those of you who don’t know who Charles Kernaghan is, he is “The Man Who Made Kathy Lee Cry”. He also heads the National Labor Committee. He discusses what he calls ‘the science of exploitation’ and his work with the NLC from the film The Corporation. You can view the trailler for the documentary in the videos section of this site (on the left hand side).

slogan t-shirts: what do you think?

Katharine Hamnett, Slogan T-Shirt "No More Fashion Victims"

Katharine Hamnett, Slogan T-Shirt "No More Fashion Victims"

 

I have been obsessed with U.K. designer Katharine Hamnett for a long time. In fact, it was her slogan t-shirts that first showed me that there was opportunity to transform this industry; she is the quintessential example of a pissed off designer who refuses to stand for the high human cost of fashion. She is dedicated to the promotion of organic cotton, and runs a strong campaign against the conventional ‘white gold’:

“Conventional cotton represents 10% of world agriculture and uses 25% of the world’s pesticides.

100 million conventional cotton farmers, from Russia to South Africa, are living in conditions of abject poverty and near starvation.

Conventional cotton subsidies funded by American taxpayers are causing poverty in the developing world as they lower the world price for cotton. (Americans are the only ones that can change this by writing to their Congress people and telling them they insist on organic cotton clothing.)

20,000 people die every year from accidental pesticide poisoning in conventional cotton agriculture (World Health Organisation). Death by starvation is alarmingly prevalent and 200,000 cotton farmers commit suicide annually due to spiralling debts incurred from buying pesticides. A further 1,000,000 people a year suffer from long-term pesticide poisoning (Pesticide Action Network).

However, if farmers grow cotton organically and can sell it as such, this dire situation is reversed.

By growing organically, farmers get a 50% increase in their income – due to a 40% reduction in costs – and the 20% premium they receive for producing organic cotton allows them to feed, clothe, educate and provide healthcare for their children.

Organic cotton helps farmers trade their way out of poverty. It’s the only formula for survival in the cotton sector in the developing world.”

                                                            (Katharine Hamnett, Campaigns: Organic Cotton)

 

Another company that offers slogan t-shirts is American Apparel. I have been familiar with their ‘Legalize L.A.’ campaign shirt, but only recently came across their ‘Legalize Gay’ slogan t-shirt. The American Apparel slogan t-shirt wants you to promote and support the repeal of prop 8. 

It got me thinking. For me, these slogan shirts represent the convergence of fashion and politics in a clear and positive way; they offer the consumer a sense of empowerment, and send a clear message of support. But what do you think?

Two very different questions….

 

 

 

 

Compostmodern09 tweet along

 

Below is my tweet along for Compostmodern09, which took place on Sat. Feb 21st 09. This event was greatly inspiring, and I will be writing a post soon on the over all themes of the conference and where the convergence into sustainable fashion design comes into play. Stay tuned for that post (and some images as well).

 

·  excited to be at #cm09 8:19 AM Feb 21st

·  #cm09 only 5000 days left. take it as fact. 9:55 AM Feb 21st

·  #cm09 Allan Chochinov ten rules applicable to fashion design. 10:23 AM Feb 21st

·  Michel Gelobler: design through the lens of soul and policy coming up, #cm09 10:26 AM Feb 21st

·  wonderment being made plain/plain being made wonderment cm#09 10:28 AM Feb 21st

·  Michel Gelobler certainty/worry/sorrow/hope #cm09 10:30 AM Feb 21st

·  need to bend the Al Gore curve #cm09 10:32 AM Feb 21st

·  Michel Gelobter: what we have, what we are using, need to establish equilibrium looking to connect product to solution. #cm09 10:40 AM Feb 21st

·  #cm09 we own the solution not the problem, Michel Gelobter 10:43 AM Feb 21st

·  Michel Gelobter #cm09 further mention of the design acccord http://tinyurl.com/b5yzl4 10:47 AM Feb 21st    

·  Saul Griffith howtoons http://www.howtoons.com/ #cm09 10:52 AM Feb 21st

·  Saul Griffith: 2008, the year of ‘peak waste’ #cm09 11:03 AM Feb 21st

·  Saul Griffith: need to re-design everything. make it small, fish shaped,slow. need a new soundtrack, font, aesthetic. need a bob dylan.#cm09 11:14 AM Feb 21st

·  Saul Griffith: we need an heirloom culture #cm09 11:17 AM Feb 21st

·  Saul Griffith: I’m an earth fucker and so are you, #cm09 11:19 AM Feb 21st

·  Saul Griffith: http://www.wattzon.com/ #cm09 11:20 AM Feb 21st

·  Saul Griffith: soon to be born child going to kick ninja ass #cm09 11:23 AM Feb 21st

·  Saul Griffith: the planet is the new design client. #cm09 11:25 AM Feb 21st

·  HR + PR does not equal CSR 11:55 AM Feb 21st    

·  Emily Pilloton #cm09 1. what>how (sustainability=human+environment) 1:59 PM Feb 21st

·  Emily Pilloton #cm09 2. the other 90% is next door (local+global) 2:00 PM Feb 21st

·  Emily Pilloton #cm09 3. always bring pom-poms (and a picket signs) 2:00 PM Feb 21st

·  Emily Pilloton #cm09 4. scalable systems, not stuff (take the product out of product design) 2:01 PM Feb 21st

·  Emily Pilloton #cm09 5. 2 (thousand) heads are better than one (the more the merrier) 2:02 PM Feb 21st

·  Emily Pilloton #cm09 6. more cattle, less hat (stop talking and just do it) 2:03 PM Feb 21st

·  whats the opportunity for graphic design, asks Makower..needs to play a bigger role. 2:05 PM Feb 21st

·  Emily Pilloton #cm09 started project H with 400$ in her bank 2:08 PM Feb 21st

·  take the poll http://tinyurl.com/coebq5 2:10 PM Feb 21st

·  Watching Pam Dorr short film “Housing Hope” 2:15 PM Feb 21st

·  John Bielenberg and Pam Dorr #cm09 spoke on Project M, and some amazing housing projects. 2:17 PM Feb 21st        

·  John Bielenberg wants you to think “wrong” so you can find solutions. Inspired by Sambo rural studios and a beautiful mind. 2:19 PM Feb 21st

·  John Bielenberg #cm09, breakthroughs happen in your late 20’s-he is inspired by grad/students. 2:22 PM Feb 21st     

·  #cm09 project M: think wrong http://www.projectmlab.com/ 2:23 PM Feb 21st

·  #cm09 project H http://www.projecthdesign.com/ 2:25 PM Feb 21st

·  all speakers at #cm09 stress the importance of serendipity in the process 2:30 PM Feb 21st

·  Dawn Danby #cm09 takes an interdisciplinary perspective on responsible design 2:38 PM Feb 21st

·  Dawn Danby #cm09 concerned with the small size of sustainable design social network 2:41 PM Feb 21st

·  Dawn Danby #cm09 asks “are we not educating our designers correctly?” this is my research question (fashion designers) 2:45 PM Feb 21st

·  Dawn Danby #cm09 “1. be cool w/ paradox 2. learn the local language 3. reconsider work worth doing 4. YOUR CLIENT IS THE PLANET” 2:46 PM Feb 21st

·  Dawn Danby #cm09 talking: sustainability is not a communist plot…semantics are crucial here. **YES!** 2:54 PM Feb 21st

·  Dawn Danby #cm09 designers are looking for direction-but they still need to understand the numbers in product lifecycle analysis 3:01 PM Feb 21st

·  Dawn Danby-if your client is the planet…then it’s on you to figure out how to solve the problems that weve got and how to pay for it 3:03 PM Feb 21st

·  Dawn Danby #cm09 “we need to get rid of our specialness” and open it up to others, interdisciplinary partnerships 3:04 PM Feb 21st

·  Nathan Shedroff #cm09 is about to tell us what we can do Monday morning, when we wake up at work with all of this. 3:08 PM Feb 21st

·  Nathan Shedroff #cm09 conservative = conservation start the ‘conservative’ movement with the actual definition 3:15 PM Feb 21st

·  Nathan Shedroff #cm09 don’t use green… use blue… it comes off more effective in business (without being too ‘environmental’) 3:17 PM Feb 21st

·  Nathan Shedroff #cm09 OH… and use the work capital *this business advice is awesome* 3:18 PM Feb 21st

·  Nathan Shedroff #cm09 use some sustainable frameworks: 1. lifecycle analysis 3:19 PM Feb 21st

·  2. natural capitalism (eco- efficiency).. 3:20 PM Feb 21st

·  3. cradle to cradle 3:20 PM Feb 21st    

·  4. “natural step” (trademarked) 3:21 PM Feb 21st

·  5. biomimicry 3:21 PM Feb 21st

·  (the point here is that these frameworks are all incomplete…they do not cover social, financial and environmental) 3:22 PM Feb 21st

·  6. Datschefski’s “Total Beauty” 3:23 PM Feb 21st

·  7. social return on investment (SROI)*very difficult to quantify* 3:24 PM Feb 21st

·  8. (last one) sustainability helix 3:24 PM Feb 21st     

·  Nathan Shedroff #cm09 wants you to bring the frameworks together for a good place to start..overlap them to cover all ground 3:25 PM Feb 21st

·  Nathan Shedroff #cm09 wants you to design for use be the ‘apple’ and lead the way the challenge is on your compeditor will do it if you dont 3:27 PM Feb 21st

·  Nathan Shedroff #cm09 wants you to design for dematerialization (all the way back) the whole lifecycle 3:29 PM Feb 21st

·  Nathan Shedroff #cm09 wants you to think about material substitution. **in the context of fibre (textiles) diversify and substitute** 3:31 PM Feb 21st

·  Nathan Shedroff #cm09 wants you to think local, to decrease transport. not always a good idea though. 3:32 PM Feb 21st

·  transmaterialization, Nathan Shedroff #cm09, and informationalization, are more sustainable (still have impact) 3:33 PM Feb 21st

·  Nathan Shedroff #cm09: next, design for durability (did i miss one? oops) 3:35 PM Feb 21st

·  design with multifuction in mind, design for reuse: Nathan Shedroff #cm09 3:36 PM Feb 21st

·  design for disassembly (Rickshaw zero bag example) http://www.rickshawbags.com/# 3:38 PM Feb 21st

·  Nathan Shedroff #cm09: redesign the system (Curitiba, Brazil, example) 3:39 PM Feb 21st

·  Nathan Shedroff #cm09 wants us to find new models, economic models suck (ex. GDP and GPI measurements) 3:41 PM Feb 21st

·  Nathan Shedroff #cm09 said DONT USE PVC!!!!!! YES!!!! http://tinyurl.com/bftk4d *thank you!!* 3:42 PM Feb 21st

·  How is this a debate, again? why are these shoes being sold as “sustainable” http://tinyurl.com/b4tnaf I wish i new more about PVC 3:46 PM Feb 21st

·  Joel Makower asks about green marketing #cm09 3:47 PM Feb 21st

·  #cm09 Joel Makower wants gree to equal better. work around the dogma. remember the business case, here. 3:51 PM Feb 21st

·  #cm09 question asked “the planet is your client” is an internal conversation? Ans. sometimes. sometimes we have to talk around the subject. 3:55 PM Feb 21st

·  Joel Makower #cm09 stories through design can/should/will integrate head and heart in the discussion 4:02 PM Feb 21st

·  AIGA #cm09 http://sustainability.aiga…. 4:04 PM Feb 21st

Emily Pilloton talks responsible design

I just wondered onto this site from David Muro II ‘s blog, and wanted to post the link here. It is a video of Emily Pilloton speaking on ‘social minded product design’ at the Metropolis Conference. Pilloton was one of the guest speakers presenting this past  Saturday at Compostmodern09 on her work as founder of Project H. Check out the video; these are product design concepts that need to be discussed in fashion design courses. They are interdisciplinary and the cross-over to fashion students is a necessary step toward sustainable fashion design.

emilypillotonlecture

The video link is embedded in the photo.

Or, follow this link to listen to Emily Pilloton talk about her work at Project H