Category Archives: Low-water use cotton

Made-by updates fibre benchmark to reflect current research

The Made-by Environmental Benchmark for Fibres has been updated to reflect new research. The benchmark considers six categories: greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) until spinning, human toxicity, ecological toxicity, energy and water input and land use (Made-by).

“In response to feedback we have included new fibres in this updated Benchmark; mechanically and chemically recycled polyesters are now differentiated to represent the different environmental impacts of the recycling technologies used, and recycled wool has been added in Class A. Whilst we are keeping an eye on this area, there have been no new studies made publically available to help us review the current classification of virgin wool.” (Made-by)

Please note: This is an environmental benchmark, and does not include information on any labour rights issues that may or may not be associated with the growing, processing, or manufacturing of the fibres.

For more information, click here.

Interactive lesson plans educate learners on responsible fashion

The Creative Commons is embedded into our responsible education ethos; we have researched and aggregated content to create educational resources because we believe that accessibility leads to accountability. Of course knowledge is power, but without access to knowledge we will not move forward.

In 2009 we brought you “[Lesson 1] Sifting through the ‘Ecofashion’ Lexicon” and our “Fibre Analysis”. In 2010 we worked further to bringing you lessons on the social, cultural, economic and environmental interdisciplinary challenges facing the value system that is the global apparel supply chain.

Social Alterations 2010 //

[Lesson 4] Corporate Social Responsibility

[Lesson 3] Global Governance and the Corporation

[Lesson 2] Connect // Key Players

[Fashion High] Understanding the Impact of your Clothing (pre-16 learners)

Social Alterations 2009 //

[Lesson 1] Sifting through the ‘Ecofashion’ Lexicon

Fibre Analysis

Check out this how to on navigating our site:

Social Alterations 2010 // Program Guide from Social Alterations on Vimeo.

VOICES // Sourcing Change — Charlie Ross, Offset Warehouse

This post was written by Charlie Ross, Founder of Offset Warehouse and tells the story of one woman’s determination and drive for change. VOICES // a feature space on SA where community members are invited to share their journey in responsible design. What’s your story?

The first time ethical design came onto my radar was whilst I was studying for my BA in Fashion and it immediately struck a chord. Inspired by a friend to find out more about the social and environmental horrors underlying much of the fashion industry, I made an early decision to do everything I could to avoid contributing to it myself, with my own designs.

Having made the decision to ensure that everything I produced was as ethical as possible, I quickly discovered first hand how problematic this can be. I was desperate to ensure that my graduate collection was both environmentally and socially responsible, but I soon found that trying to find ethical suiting fabric light enough, let alone affordable, was impossible. Even hours of pleading with suppliers for sponsorship was to no avail (which, incidentally, is why I’m so keen to begin our sponsorship scheme, and have started a mailing list for all those interested!).

The closest I came to fulfilling my ambition of being truly ethical, was when I was given an opportunity to work with Reiko Sudo, founder of Nuno in Japan. She supplied me with recycled polyester for my shirts, and a recycled content fabric that could be manipulated with heat. The collaboration also came with a free ticket to Tokyo, so I attended the opening night of the exhibition where all the pieces were on display. The whole experience was inspirational and made me realise that my dream of a world of ethical fashion could become a reality.

The second part of my studies was a Masters in menswear design at the Royal College of Art. As wonderful as the opportunity was (and we all know how many famous designers started their careers there) I found myself constantly swimming against a strong current of professors and peers who didn’t agree with or understand my “green” thinking. It certainly didn’t correspond to their idea of “fashion”, but undeterred, I set to work creating a collection that would challenge their preconceptions: I would create a collection that was ethical and beautiful and fashion forward. And according to most, I succeeded.

But my commitment to being ethical meant I doubled my workload. As most of the fabrics I chose were organic, and therefore only came in neutral tones, I spent hours dyeing them to match my colourways, whilst at the same time ensuring I had used the minimum quantities I needed, to limit the amount that would be put back into the “cycle”. I also ended up spending hours sifting through recycle banks to reclaim textiles – not to mention, the weeks of research it took to source the fabrics and services I needed. I had to find leathers that were by-products and vegetan, spray paint old tarpaulins to make into jackets, source vintage buttons and pieces I could use for clasps … and all this before I even started the pattern cutting!

I realised very quickly that there needed to be a central source to go to for materials and information, if there was any chance of convincing those less committed than myself to take the ethical route in fashion. Yes, there were plenty of forums, but no solid solutions.

So, when I graduated from the RCA, I set about finding solutions to all the problems I had been faced with and Offset Warehouse was born. My idea was to make a wide range of ethical textiles available to buy in one place and also to offer the resources needed for research, as well as access to the ethical services and businesses needed to be able to manipulate the textiles – ethical dye labs, embroiderers, fair trade manufacturers, laser cutters, pattern cutters… you name it!

And of course, as proof that ethical fashion can be fashion forward and affordable, I also decided to include a boutique. It’s also proving a great solution for ethical students who want to sell their graduate collections!

I had a few struggles initially. Funding, of course, was a particular concern, but I finally decided that given the global nature of both my suppliers and potential users of the service, the most sensible place to set up the business was online. So that’s what I did and in turn, lowered the overheads of the business considerably.

Has it been an easy road? No, by no means. Surprisingly perhaps, in this day and age, I have found being a woman and only 26 has caused problems. It probably doesn’t help that I look younger than I am, but it makes me mad when I am patronised by individuals who assume that I am naive about the business. More fool them! Attending the RCA allowed me experiences far beyond those one might expect of someone of my age. I’ve had exposure working alongside and pitching to companies including Umbro, Brioni, Thierry Mugler, Zandra Rhodes and Vogue. Not to mention one to ones with the head designers of Versace, Givenchy and Valentino, and styling the rather difficult, Jonny Borrell (Razorlight) amongst other musical talents. Of course, it’s also part of my nature – I approach life with not just a “can do” attitude, but an “I can do it all” attitude. Since I launched Offset Warehouse, I’ve become my own buyer, a journalist, a web designer and developer, law copyrighter, marketeer, PR person (including making my own promotional videos), and SEO writer… it’s amazing the things you can learn from a few books, free workshops and youtube!

But this immensely steep learning curve shouldn’t have been necessary – I’m a great believer in passing on knowledge, which is why Offset Warehouse promotes learning and presents its own lectures and workshops. Knowledge is power, and understanding all aspects of being ethical – from the market, to what makes a fibre ethical, is, in my opinion, key to being a successful ethical designer. Passing on knowledge is central to our ethos, and we don’t just lecture about ethical issues, but also present workshops that will help designers further their careers – we review lots of CVs and portfolios of designers who want to be part of the Ethical Directory, and you wouldn’t believe how many applications could be improved with simple tricks!

Since our launch, we’ve had a huge response. It’s clear that we’re filling a gap in the market.

One unexpected development has been the demand for Offset Warehouse to provide consultancy. In response to the many requests we have had, I decided to establish a pool of consultants, all experts in their fields, who we can call upon to provide support to our clients. Ranging from referring a fair trade manufacturer (which we don’t charge for), to developing a range of ethical accessories. It’s been a fantastic addition to the business – and has left me wondering where we might go next… watch this space!

So here we are. Looking back, we have come farther than I could have dreamed at this point. It has not been an easy ride by any means and, looking forward, there is a long way to go for the industry to truly make a difference to the way it operates and the way it is perceived. I personally am very proud of how far we have come but Offset Warehouse still has much to do and I suspect the challenges will be different but no less demanding. Bring it on!

Cocoa, Coffee & Cotton

By KoS, via Wikimedia Commons

Consumers be forewarned! The price of your cotton clothes will rise!! Brands, retailers and suppliers are doing everything they can to keep costs down but they are in “a no-choice situation”, “prices have to come up.”

Cotton futures increased to around $1.4 recently; the highest price measured in 140 years of trade and with inventories at an all time low, there’s been some massive panic in the apparel industry. Other than the increase in cotton clothing costs, there are a variety of other consequences:

1. It’s expected that in an attempt to cut costs, producers, brands and retailers will probably increase the use of cotton blends and synthetics in their lines.

2. Component materials like thread and buttons are also being examined for cost savings.

3. Many companies (sticking with tradition) are placing their orders with manufacturers in lower wage and lower duty tariff countries like Bangladesh, and Cambodia; both of which experienced massive garment labour unrest over their workplace conditions.

So how did this situation arise?

Cotton LifeStyle Monitor explained the situation and concluded that this is a “classic situation in which prices are bound to rise” and that “[i]t may be helpful to recognize the forces that coincided to produce this “perfect storm” and to understand that cyclical events correct themselves over time.“

Okay then, let me try:

1. The financial crisis: lagging consumer demand was met by a decrease in supply but when consumer demand rebounded slightly, supply hadn’t caught up which put a lot of pressure on inventories that were already low because of the low consumer demand that we started with.

2. Bad weather in… pretty much every place where there is cotton production…floods in Pakistan, droughts in China, Australia and Russia. This means that supply will continue to be low for a while and inventories will not be restocked i.e. shortages in cotton.

3. Speculators saw these factors as good indicators of potential increases in cotton prices and entered the cotton market (i.e. bought it all up) and drove prices even higher by further increasing demand .

Interesting how volatile the cotton market has been this year! You know what The Daily Show has to say about the “perfect storm”:

“So it was the perfect storm…I feel like I’ve heard that before….The GM Bailout? The 2007 Bubble? The 2008 AIG bailout? Just a random crappy day on Wall Street?

Why is it that when something happens that the people who should’ve seen it coming didn’t see it coming, it’s blamed on these rare-once-in-a-century perfect storms, that for some reason take place every f***ing two weeks?

I’m beginning to think these are not perfect storms. I’m beginning to think these are regular storms and we have a shitty boat”.

(here’s a link to the clip for our Canadian friends)

Given the volatility of the cotton market, what can a company do to prevent price fluctuations?? One thing that brands, retailers and suppliers can do is learn from other industries dependent on volatile commodities. Two classic examples are coffee and cocoa.

Coffee

As you can see from the graph below, the coffee market is incredibly volatile.

Trends and variability in international coffee prices (annual averages) (FAO, 2003)

The FAO Commodity Market Review for 2003-2004 concluded a chapter on lessons learned from the international coffee crisis with this statement:

“Ultimately, non-competitive producers must diversify out of coffee production.”

The Starbucks 2003 CSR report was very frank about the consequences of this price volatility:

“A fair price to a Guatemalan coffee farmer living in a small, remote village may be different than that of a farmer living in Kenya. But in the end, both farmers must earn enough to cover their costs of production and adequately support their families. Otherwise, they may stop growing coffee.“ (emphasis added)

So, to insure a sustainable and stable supply of coffee in the future, Starbucks, the world’s largest buyer of coffee, with the help of Conservation International, developed Coffee and Farmer Equity Practices (C.A.F.E.), a set of guidelines and measurable standards designed to help farmers engage in socially and environmentally responsible agriculture. They have also increased their purchases of fair trade certified coffee making it the largest purchaser in that market as well. By 2015, Starbucks aims to source 100% of their coffee from responsibly grown and ethically traded sources which they define as “third-party verified or certified, either through Coffee and Farmer Equity (C.A.F.E.) Practices, Fairtrade, or another externally audited system.”

Cocoa

The cocoa industry faced a similar situation as the coffee industry with a highly volatile market. An FAO report described price changes from 2000-2005:

By Medicaster, via Wikimedia Commons

“After recovering from an all time low price of US 40 cents per pound in 2000, cocoa bean prices doubled in 2002 and remained steady at more than US 79 cents in 2003 as a result of reduced production and stock levels. A reversal in trend occurred in 2004 when an estimated surplus of 240 000 tonnes, the highest in 14 years, was realized. This led to prices declining to a little over US 70 cents per pound in 2004. Crop forecast for 2004/2005 indicate a continued upward trend in production along with exports. However, recent difficulties with shipments from West Africa, have led to a slight strengthening in prices in February 2005.”

In 2009, Mars announced their aims to have a completely sustainable cocoa supply chain by 2020 and is working with the Rainforest Alliance and UTZ Certified to reach this goal. It is the first chocolate retailer to do so and when asked the reasons behind the decision the response is remarkably similar to that of Starbucks:

“It is the appropriate choice for a stable, high-quality cocoa supply in the future”.

According to the Washington Post, the move is part of a long-term strategy to deal with fluctuating supplies which includes “a five-year, $10 million project to map the entire cocoa genome with the aim of developing trees that can better survive drought and disease.”

For both industries, large players realized that the long term consequences of price volatility include an unstable and shrinking supply. The response was to develop a strategy that included a long term investment in the environmental and social sustainability of farming communities. This investment should pay back as a sustainable, stable and consistently priced raw material central to the survival of these companies.

Cotton faces the same conditions as both coffee and cocoa in terms of price volatility and demand-supply fluctuations. I think it might be time for the big players in the apparel industry to talk to the big players in the coffee and cocoa industries. The only similar initiative I know of in the apparel industry is H&M’s commitment to sustainable materials.

World Water Day: 2010

March 22nd is World Water Day. Here are just a handful of stats out of the UN report World Water Day 2010: Clean Water for a Healthy World, “Water quality facts and statistics”:

Worldwide, infectious diseases such as waterborne diseases are the number one killer of children under five years old. More people die from unsafe water annually than from all forms of violence, including war. (WHO 2002)
Unsafe water causes 4 billion cases of diarrhoea each year, and results in 2.2 million deaths, mostly of children under five. This means that 15% of child deaths each year are attributable to diarrhoea – a child dying every 15 seconds. In India alone, the single largest cause of ill health and death among children is diarrhoea, which kills nearly half a million children each year. (WHO and UNICEF 2000)
Freshwater species have faced an estimated extinction rate five times greater than that of terrestrial species. (Ricciardi and Rasmussen 1999)
Point-of- use drinking water treatment through chlorine and safe storage of water could result in 122.2 million avoided DALYs (Disability Adjusted Life Years, a measure of morbidity), at a total cost of US$ 11.4 billion. (UN WWAP 2003)
70% of untreated industrial wastes in developing countries are disposed into water where they contaminate existing water supplies. (UN-Water 2009)

For more stats and facts, and to download the full report click here.

Here is a video form charity: water, “a non-profit organization bringing clean and safe drinking water to people in developing nations. 100% of public donations directly fund water projects” on their campaign for Haiti.

Unshaken – charity: water’s campaign for Haiti from charity: water on Vimeo.

Within the context of responsible fashion design, water consumption, pollution and contamination are endemic within the industry, make no mistake.

The Environmental Justice Foundation (EJF) has done the math on cotton and water:

10,000-17,000 litres of water = 1 kg of cotton lint

6 pints of water = 1cotton bud

**This amount seems even more staggering when we consider that the cotton crop is only grown on 2.4% of the world’s arable land (EJF).**

Global cotton consumption has been estimated to be responsible for 2.6 per cent of the global water use, however, much of the impact is not felt in the country where the cotton is consumed, but where it has been produced. As a global average, 44 per cent of the water use for cotton growth and processing is not for serving the domestic market but for export.

As a result it has been estimated that nearly half of the water problems in the world related to cotton growth and processing can be attributed to foreign demand for cotton products. In this respect, it has been calculated that 84% of EU’s cotton-related water footprint lies outside the EU, with major impacts particularly in India and Uzbekistan.

Cotton production has a high impact on freshwater ecosystems and biodiversity through activities such as excessive water withdrawal for irrigation, runoff from fields, drainage, pesticide application, dam construction and land reclamation. The activities result in a range of impacts from salinisation, pollution to loss of soil and biodiversity.

The issue of bottled water is yet another side of the story. The Story of Stuff has launched a new campaign, and added a new video to the popular Story of Stuff series “The Story of Bottled Water: How “manufactured demand” pushes what we don’t need and destroys what we need most”. Click here for more information.

UN Water has a TON of interactive campaign materials available online, so be sure to check them out and help spread the word and get involved.

To learn more about the potential social and environmental impacts of cotton in this context, check out the SA Fibre Analysis.

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.

Social Alterations: Fibre Analysis

We’re working on developing some ready-to-use curricula for fashion/textile/apparel instructors and designers.

First up, is the Social Alterations “Fibre Analysis: Possible Social and Environmental Impacts.” Data for this document was aggregated from resources you will find in the “Works Cited” section, on the last page of the PDF. This document is licensed and protected through the Creative Commons, which basically means that you can use it wherever/whenever you want, assuming you do so within the guidelines outlined in the Creative Commons licensing for which this document is registered (see below).

This is only the beginning folks; Social Alterations has mandated itself to deliver online curriculum to aid in the development of socially responsible fashion design education.

You can get involved by joining the Social Alterations Forum to share your experience in socially responsible fashion design education.

If you have any questions, comments, concerns or requests please contact us.

Fibre Analysis by Mary Hanlon is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 2.5 Canada License.

Click here to download the resource: Fibre Analysis, Social Alterations

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

A closer look into Gap Inc.’s new Clean Water Program

Gap Inc.’s Clean Water Program, established in 2004 to monitor water contamination, has now grown into a system that advertises zero waste from the factory. Inside the pocket of each pair of 1969 jeans you will find this statement:

“The water used in the process of washing & dying these jeans has been specially treated to ensure it is safe & clean when it leaves the factory.”

Here’s a closer look at how Gap Inc. breaks down its environmental footprint:

“The first phase of our environmental footprint assessment focuses on regions and facilities where we control operations and can make changes most easily. It includes our 11 headquarters (HQ) buildings, five design studios, seven distribution center campuses, and more than 2,800 stores in our North American fleet. Scheduled to be completed in 2009, this first phase will examine energy, water usage, effluents and waste (including wastewater, solid waste and hazardous waste).

The second phase of our assessment will focus further into our supply chain, where we have less direct influence but greater opportunity for impact. We expect to begin the second phase to begin in early 2010”

Unfortunately, the company does not appear, as of yet, to have goaled itself to take on the materials end of its supply chain. This is an oversight in responsible water-use, considering that 1kg of cotton requires 8000 litres of water. Not only does the materials end of the spectrum use a lot of water, but conventional cotton, with its heavy use of chemicals, results in dirty effluents.

On the Raw Materials end of the spectrum, low-water use cotton may be one option the company will be investigate in the future. Low-water use cotton is often rain-fed. Rain-fed cotton, however, risks the outcome of having a lower quality to it due to irregular water patterns(Fletcher). It will be interesting to see how the company tackles this phase of the lifecycle in the years ahead.

Lifecycle analysis should follow the impact of a garment at every stage: material, production, transportation, use, and disposal. One look at Gap Inc.’s supply chain and it becomes clear that the consumer is not considered in the environmental impact assessments. This is another oversight in the clean water program. Using the example of a simple T-shirt, Kate Fletcher states that consumer use

“has the highest impact and the effect of reducing the energy used in washing, drying and ironing […] dwarfs the possible effects of changing production methods.” (Fletcher)

This suggests that no matter what changes a company makes to clean-up water on the production side, heavy water use and dirty effluence on the consumer end may render such changes minimal when considered against the entire lifecycle of a garment.

One way the company could reduce both water use and contamination immediately is to start promoting responsible laundry habits, and engage consumers in the process. This could be as simple as creating a user friendly online site recommending best practices for each style of jean. This would involve simply directing customers to site for information and instructions.

In the future, why not add some responsible water care labels to each garment tag (a responsible extension off the already present ‘how to care for this garment’ instructions). For example, recommended laundry detergents, how much soap to use, and instructions on ways to avoid the dryer. (A common complaint about jeans that have been left to hang dry is that they wind up feeling stiff. Simple tip to avoid this is to air dry first, and then, if you have to, pop them in the dryer to soften them up for a few minutes before you wear them).

Of course there may be no real way of tracking consumer progress on the user end, but that’s no reason not to get behind consumer education when it comes to water consumption and the laundry machine.

Taken further, each Gap Inc. store would be able to provide consumers with the correct information on laundry detergents that are appropriate for the local water system in that particular area. Gap Inc. certainly has the resources to implement a program like this. Whether or not consumers will follow recommendations, is another story all together! Imagine the possibilities for a program like that.

Regardless of any oversights in the program, kudos to Gap Inc. not only for taking on this initiative, but for effectively implementing the goals it set out to achieve. This program will no doubt inspire competitors to think about water effluents and waste in their own supply chain.

Source: GreenBiz and Gap Inc.

Work Cited: Fletcher, Kate. Sustainable Fashion and Textiles: Design Journeys. London: Earthscan, 2008.