Category Archives: Education

Educating and Engaging // Shared Talent India, Centre for Sustainable Fashion

Shared Talent India encourages “fashion designers to exchange expertise with other protagonists across the supply chain, transcending traditional divisions, be they linguistic, geographic, or discipline based.” (Shared Talent India)

Designers can now access much needed information on opportunities and limitations of materials in India such as cotton and silk (among others). While designers may feel discouraged when they learn that genetically modified (GM) cotton “has found its way into almost every Indian supply chain,” they will no doubt understand the opportunity for change, as it exists in India, when they learn that “[s]eed exchange projects empower farming communities” (Shared Talent India).   

The project also provides information on the historical and cultural significance of skills such as weaving and knitting, dyeing and printing, embroidery, etc., as well as information on their processes. And, most important to designers, Shared Talent India presents a platform not only for education, but for engagement with direct access to suppliers on the ground.

Visit the project, get informed and join in on the industry conversation!

Congratulations to the Shared Talent India design team, their partners and funders and to the Centre for Sustainable Fashion for making this brilliant project happen.

Special Focus // Slow Fashion Forward, strategically mobilizing a responsible fashion industry

“We consider the Slow Fashion movement as a viable alternative for achieving sustainability in the fashion industry.” (Slow Fashion Forward)

Carlotta Cataldi, Maureen Dickson and Crystal Grover of Slow Fashion Forward have recently published an important industry report—Slow Fashion: Tailoring a Strategic Industry Approach towards Sustainability.

Through conceptual frameworks and systems thinking, the report outlines key insights and strategic recommendations, such as Basic Principles for Sustainability and 10 Slow Fashion Values.

Click here to download the final industry report.

We ask that you follow and support their continued work and research here, on their main site.

May24SlowFashionFinal on Prezi

Source: Slow Fashion Forward

Image Source – Slow Fashion: Tailoring a Strategic Industry Approach towards Sustainability.

Fashioning an Ethical Industry launches Scottish Ethical Fashion Education Network alongside continued UK training

“Over 75% of fashion businesses think it is important for new recruits to have knowledge regarding social, environmental and ethical issues.” (FEI) 

Over the coming year Fashioning an Ethical Industry (FEI) will be working with Scottish universities and colleges to establish a network interested in teaching, learning and sharing about ethics in the fashion industry. With the support from FEI the Network will host events, develop resources and share best practice related to corporate social responsibility in the fashion industry. Find out more and join the network.

FEI student workshops will equip your graduates with information and skills in this important emerging area. Staff training sessions will give teaching staff the resources and confidence to effectively deliver the subject area. For further information and booking please see the website.

*The contents of this post was directly sourced through the FEI Bulletin*

New Fashion Activism DIY Courses// re-dress, Ireland

FASHION /// ACTIVISM

Check out these amazing upcoming DIY courses from re-dress, held at their new HQ: 4 Hatch Street Lower, Dublin 2
  
BEGINNERS DESIGN CRASH COURSE
The one day fashion skills crash course for beginners.
Sat Nov 20th / 10am-5.pm / Re-dress HQ 
Cost : €90 (includes light lunch) Read more here
 
UPCYCLING TEXTILES : CURIOUS COLLARS
This one day crash course will teach you how to upcycle waste materials into amazing accessories using skills such as embellishment, embroidery and pattern drafting culminating in the creation of a unique collars , broaches and more.

Instruction by: Sinead Kane / Jane Kelleher Designer Makers
Sat 27th November, 10am -5pm, Re-dress HQ
Cost : €90 (includes light lunch) Read more here
 
ULTIMATE UPCYCLING
This 8 week course will explore upcycling to it’s fullest and teach you the techniques needed to create a new wardrobe from last seasons seconds. This is a make and take course so you will leave with a finished and photographed piece in week 8. Instruction by: Deirdre Harte, Upcycling Designer
Duration: 8-weeks, beginning Monday 1st November / 6.30pm-8.30.pm / Re-dress HQ
Cost : €150  Read more here
 
BOW TIES & BELLINIS!
In this half day workshop will create one of the the most seasonal fashion accessory ; the bow tie … We had to finish this one with a Bellini !  Instruction by: Sinead Kane (Bellinis made by the re-dress ladies!)
Duration: Duration: 1/2 Day, Sunday November 14th / 2pm-5pm /  Re-dress HQ
Cost : €40  Read more here
 
DROP IN FASHION SKILLS WORKSHOPS
This 2 hour evening sewing session will allow you finish , start or alter any garments you are having trouble completing and all under the helpful hand of the skilled designer Maria Tapper..
Runs every last Thursday of the month beginning Thursday September 30th / 7pm-9pm
To pre book your place in the next class email tickets@re-dress.ie
 
MUMS TO BE EMBROIDERY
This 4 week morning class is especially programmed for mums to be and we will take you through basic embroidery techniques for children’s clothes…. Tea and cakes a must for this one!  Instruction by: Maria Tapper, Fashion Designer
Duration: 4 weeks beginning Tuesday November 2nd / 10am- 12pm / Re-dress HQ
Cost : €80  Read more here
 
BASIC PATTERN DRAFTING
This 2 day course will take you through the construction of a skirt block to the design of a skirt and through the cutting and finishing process. Duration: 2-Days / December 4th & 5th / 10am – 5pm , Re-dress HQ Cost : €150  Read more here 
FRENCH KNICKERS & COCKTAILS
This 2 hour class will take you step by step through the construction of your own pair of frilly briefs and all while sipping a cocktail !
Duration: December 7th / 7pm – 9pm / Re-dress HQ
Cost : €30  Read more here

SHARE + LEARN // Social Alterations creates open-source online community learning hub through ‘Wikiversity’

Knowledge is power.

If you believe the above statement to be true, you likely also believe that without knowledge, there can be no power.

Readers who have been following us from the beginning will already know our passion for open-source education; we began as an interdisciplinary project designed and mandated to breakdown educational barriers to internationalize responsibility within the fashion industry.

The challenges facing the industry are social, cultural, environmental and economic; interdisciplinary problems demand interdisciplinary solutions. Education is our point of intervention.

If were going to make any headway whatsoever, educators and students need to feel empowered.

To make this happen, we’ve created an online learning hub for the community to share research and ideas. This is a working space for community leaders to collectively own.

Here is how it works:

  • Go to the wiki page and check it out;
  • Notice that anyone can edit/add content to the wiki, hence ‘open-source’;
  • Log-in, create a Wikiversity account for yourself, your organization or your academic institution;
  • Add content to a section already created, or click ‘add topic’ to get the ball rolling in another relevant topic;
  • Upload links to resources you think would be of value to learners (this can be links to your own articles, books, and content).

While you don’t need to create an account to edit or add content, having an account will make sure that you, or your organization, gets the by line for what you have added.

The wiki is licensed through the Creative Commons, although we encourage you to upload links to resources, directing learners to libraries, university databases, organizational resources, etc.

This is an opportunity for our community to come together and create our own collective database for knowledge sharing, engagement and discussion.

Educators and students need to feel empowered, and we need to help them get there.   

So what do you say? Are you with us?

Shamelessly Idealistic? Free the Children // We Day: Vancouver, Canada

[Centre: This child was 12 years old when he was assassinated for standing up for his rights]

“Acting is what I do for a living; activism is what I do to stay alive.” (Martin Sheen)

Today I witnessed 18,000 youth stand up and shout out  in support for children’s rights. Have you ever heard 18,000 children chant freedom, again and again? I can assure you that it is a sound I will not soon forget.

Did you know that he has been arrested more than 60 times for activism? He looks pretty darn innocent in this photo!

This year’s We Day events saw Free the Children co-founders Craig and Mark Kielburger celebrate the hard work and dedication of students all across Canada—students who have collectively raised 5 million dollars, banking 1 million volunteer hours along the way, for children in need.

The event has attracted human rights and environmental leaders from around the world; on stage to support, celebrate and motivate these students were activists Martin Sheen, Al Gore, Reverend Jesse L. Jackson Sr., Rick Hanson, Ethan Zohn, Philippe Cousteau, Spencer West, Scott Hammell, and Robin Wiszowaty, and musicians Hedley, Colbie Caillat, and The Barenaked Ladies.

Click here to watch it live on demand.

“Youth are not our future, they are our right now” (Reverend Jesse L. Jackson Sr.)

Empowering students by empowering teachers, the We Schools in Action program has built 150 schools (650 schools, over the last 15 years) in Kenya, Sierra Leone, Ecuador, China, Haiti and Sri Lanka and provided more than 60,000 people internationally with clean water.

Free the Children Founders Craig and Mark Kielburger

Want to get your students involved? Teachers, this is a year long initiative, with campaigns set to keep your students motivated and engaged throughout the entire process:

• Halloween for Hunger asks children to collect canned goods instead of candy, for donation in their community: 2009 saw 217,000 pounds of food collected

• On November 19th students are asked to participate in a Vow of Silence; this day of action calls attention to the 218 million child labourers who have no voice.

• On January 12th, students celebrate and remember Haiti, through the We are all Haitians campaign

• February 19-25 is Aboriginal Education Week, where students are tasked to take action within their own local communities

• April 11-15 is 5 Days of Freedom. Register your interest and they will provide your school with posters, celebrity videos, motivational resources, etc.

Representing Social Alterations, I felt proud to be in the same room not with the leaders mentioned above, but with these kids…..these 18, 000 kids! It was like nothing I have ever experienced.

For more information, please check out We Day and Free the Children.

Fashioning the Future 2011 Award // Fashion’s Campaign for Unique

Attention tutors, students, and recent graduates! The Centre for Sustainable Fashion has launched the 2011 Fashioning the Future Award brief.

  • What kind of world are you designing for?
  • What is your motivation as a designer?
  • What is your unique contribution to our collective futures?

To participate, you must register your interest online: www.sustainable-fashion.com from1 October 2010 where you will have access to resources and ideas to stimulate your work.

Here are the submission dates and deadlines:

Round 1 of submission: you will be required to submit your work online by 15 June 2011.

Candidates who are shortlisted from Round 1 will be invited to Round 2!

Round 2 submission deadline: July 2011.

Good luck!

Source: Centre for Sustainable Fashion, London College of Fashion

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!

CBC News Headline

I have to say, I was a bit surprised by this headline, although, to be fair, it is in the “Money” section.  The article has a cursory overview of what happened in Bangladesh (click here for a detailed summary of the events in Bangladesh) but something else stood out while reading it.  On the wage hikes, an H&M representative pointed out that the increase in cost is “competition-neutral” affecting all brands equally.

Really?

What the H&M rep said would be accurate if we lived in a perfect world.  But, when we talk of Bangladesh which has a low capacity to regulate and enforce the law, what ends up happening is that the minimum wage is almost like a suggested wage.  Check out this inset from Stitching a Decent Wage Across Borders: The Asia Floor Wage Proposal 2009

Stitching a Decent Wage Across Borders: The Asia Floor Wage Proposal 2009, p. 25

Interesting.  So, factories have the discretion to set production targets which helps control wages.  This makes wages variable relative to production quotas which factories can play around with to manage their costs.  We may be talking about a minimum wage increase but if production quotas change (i.e. increase) to match this wage hike then I doubt that any cost increases will be “competition neutral”.  I predict that what may happen is that factories will play around with production targets to remain competitive compared to other factories.  Why? Because factories work in a world driven by a “survival of the cheapest” philosophy.  So while the CSR department may put pressure on the government and supplier factories to improve conditions and wages causing increases in unit prices, the buying department may start to look elsewhere for cheaper products which, more likely than not, means another factory with low wages and sub-par working conditions.  Buying practices are a huge reason why producers are so worried about this wage increase.

Time to connect the dots:

This whole system is connected from the farm all the way into the closet and beyond that into the dump.  Retailers, brands and other clients cannot be outraged at the low wages in Bangladesh and put huge pressure on factories to improve their conditions without acknowledging that at least some of the responsibility lies with their purchasing practices.  Same with us consumers, we can’t be happy to pay an incredibly low price for clothing and then act completely shocked and outraged when we find out what it takes for that to happen.  Who are we kidding?   It’s like that scene from Casablanca:

ATTEND// Earth, Inc. Webinar

The Harvard Business Review in collaboration with SAP and Hitachi Consulting have announced a complimentary webinar hosted by Gregory Unruh, a specialist on corporate governance and ethics.  This looks like a great opportunity to learn more about embedding sustainability into your everyday business practices making it a defining feature of your business values, ethics and culture.

Title:  Earth, Inc.: Using Nature’s Rules to Build Sustainable Profits

Earth, Inc by Gregory Unruh (via www.gregoryunruh.com)

About the Webinar:

“Don’t use too many fossil fuels. Don’t waste paper. Don’t over-package your goods. For years companies have been hearing what not to do when it comes to making their business practices more sustainable.

But what can you do to make your company both ecologically responsible and financially profitable?  What are the rules, ideologies, and methods that will guide your business toward sustainable practices?  How can you successfully implement ecological theory into your everyday business practices?

In this interactive seminar Gregory Unruh will show you how to embed sustainability into everything your company does – profitably. Provide prescriptive steps that will inform your business decisions, Unruh will help you launch your company into eco-minded practices.

Unruh will introduce listeners to the Biosphere Rules — nature inspired principles that can transform your business from a resource depleter to a resource re-user.”

Gregory Unruh (via www.gregoryunruh.com)

About Gregory Unruh:

“Gregory Unruh is Director of the Lincoln Center for Ethics in Global Management and Professor of Corporate Governance/Ethics at Thunderbird School of Global Management. He is an expert on the role of technological innovation in addressing global sustainability questions. He co-founded the Center for Eco-Intelligent Management with the renowned architect William McDonough to explore the business case for implementing Cradle-to-Cradle product and process innovations.”

When:  Tuesday, August 10th, 2010

4:00 PM – 5:00 PM GMT
12:00 PM – 1:00 PM US Eastern
11:00 AM – 12:00 PM US Central
10:00 AM – 11:00 AM US Mountain
9:00 AM – 10:00 AM US Pacific

Where:  In your office, conference room, an auditorium or even at home.  Whatever works for you!

To register click here!

WATCH// Otto von Busch Hacking Design

Earlier this year, the SA team had the chance to watch Otto von Busch speak at the FEI conference in London.  We were so inspired by him and his passion.  Mary wrote about his presentation that same night saying that it “was absolutely fabulous, and when it came time for Otto to close his presentation, nobody wanted it to end!”

Today, I came across a video of his presentation at the RSA.  Enjoy!