Category Archives: Responsibility

Innovative Fast Fashion

It’s not often I chose to celebrate fast fashion but on this occasion I want to share an innovative fast fashion graduate project called Urbanhermes: Fashion Signaling and the Social Mobility of Images by Christine Liu.  Although this project has not come from a fashion school or from the perspective of sustainability or ethics I think it demonstrates an alternative way of thinking about fast fashion, responding to its functions rather than attempting to deny it.

Urbanhermes is a messenger bag designed to display and disseminate

meaningful yet ephemeral images between people in the public realm.

These images surface as representation of the daily zeitgeist; the image

as fashion emerges and grows in popularity as knowledge diffuses

over a very short period of time. (Lui 2006)

Usually when I think of fast fashion I think about the stress on supply chains, the abundance of waste created and the many issues that it poses throughout fashion value chains in the sourcing, manufacture, consumption and disposal of our fashion products. What I didn’t consider until recently and what seems missing from many of the discussions is an exploration of why fast fashion has infiltrated the apparel industry and become normalized in our understanding of fashion? What function does the speed of fashion serve? Urban Hermes addresses some of these issues from the perspective of signalling theory, capitalizing on the technological benefits of electronic fashion. The project embeds the notion that fashion is a way of signalling information prowess (Donnath, 2007 30:47 mins) and that fashion (in clothing and elsewhere) changes at a rate which directly correlates to the rate at which information travels through society(Liu 2006. p89). From this perspective we should expect fashion to continue to accelerate in line with our faster paced information society. Knowing what we do about the impact of the fast fashion industry any further increases in speed conjure up a grim outlook were we to rely wholly on physical fashion products. Electronic fashion innovations such as Urban Hermes demonstrate one alternative way to think about the future of fast fashion.

‘’We hypothesize that electronic fashion signals in the physical realm will

allow people to disclose and perceive expressive qualities about themselves

that would not be possible by current material fashions.’’ (Liu 2006)

Thankfully there are many approaches to the large and complex issues surrounding fast fashion, some focus on improving the supply chain, innovating new ways of recycling and changing behavior or attitude towards our products. We need so many approaches because the issue is infected with so many needs and influenced by so many factors. Our clothing, dress and fashions fulfill many different social cultural and individual needs as Kate Fletcher and Matilda Tham draw attention to in their Lifetimes project. We need to be mindful and aware of these different needs in any discussion about how we can make positive forward thinking changes towards a more responsible, sustainable and healthy fashion industry.

‘’We believe that people’s psychological and material needs have to be met, meaning that both fashion AND clothes are important ® so we need to evolve a range of responses that operate on both the symbolic and biological levels. This has led us to the idea of fast and slow rhythms of use working with fast and slow garments.’’ (Fletcher & Tham 2004)

 

Urbanhermes: Fashion Signaling and the Social Mobility of Images  By Christine Liu 2006

Lifetimes  by Kate Fletcher and Matilda Tham

 

Responsible Fashion Roundup

The Social Alterations team is constantly coming across interesting content from a wide variety of sources. This is a curated selection of thought provoking reading we’ve done in the past month related to responsible fashion.

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§ Let’s begin with designer interviews: one well-established and one up-and-coming. Katharine Hamnett talks with The Wild Magazine about her journey to fashion and sustainability, while The Genteel interviews Lucia Cuba on her controversial collection that reflects her passion for socio-political issues in her homeland, Peru.

Stop and Think

“Katharine Hamnett is most famous and recognized for her slogan t-shirts that became wildly popular in the 1980s, bearing slogans such as “Choose Life” and “58% Don’t Want Pershing” (missiles). The statement t-shirts became so widespread that they were copied by nearly everyone in the industry. Perhaps surprisingly, Hamnett welcomed the imitations (The Wild Magazine).”

Fashioning a Political Case

“Under the birth control policies implemented by President Alberto Fujimori’s government, hundreds of thousands of Peruvian men and women were forcibly sterilised over a four-year period in the late-1990s. Amanda Coen looks at how fashion designer and social activist, Lucia Cuba, is raising awareness of this highly contentious subject through her latest project, ARTICULO 6 (The Genteel).”

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§ On the sweatshop front, Forever 21 faces an investigation which reminds us that worker issues exist in ‘developed’ countries as well. Meanwhile, although I personally don’t agree with the strategy, some universities have severed their contracts with Adidas.

Forever 21 Under Investigation For Using ‘Sweatshop-Like’ Factories In Los Angeles

“The leggings you just bought at Forever 21 may have more problems with them than an excess of sequins. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, Forever 21 clothing is being produced in “sweatshop-like conditions” by workers in Los Angeles-area factories, the agency said in a press release on Thursday (The Huffington Post).”

Universities Dump Adidas Over Labor Disputes

“In its reckless quest to overtake Nike in the sportswear market, Adidas built a footloose global supply chain to force its factories into cut-throat competition (The Nation).”

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§ The second season of Vice’s Fashion Week Internationale, a webseries investigating the under-reported fashion weeks in overlooked locales from Cambodia to Nigeria. Vice steps behind the catwalk to look at the realities that exist around fashion and the industry in these countries. PSFK interviewed Charlet Duboc, correspondent and co-producers of the series. I’ve also added a link to the latest episode which just happens to take place in South Korea, a country that’s close to my heart. I strongly encourage you to watch the other episodes, particularly the one about Cambodia. Fascinating! Especially in light of the events that have been taking place there related to garment workers and the living wage debate.

Why don’t we ever hear about Nigerian Fashion Week?

“PSFK talks to the co-producer of Fashion Week Internationale, a VICE series, about communicating the controversial and often unreported issues surrounding under the radar fashion weeks from around the world (PSFK).”

Seoul Fashion Week

“Fashion Week Internationale lands in Seoul, the technology and entertainment capital of East Asia. Charlet tries and fails to understand why people there shop at 4 AM, gets a makeover on the subway, and meets Donald King, the loneliest punk in the world (Vice).”

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§ The Asia Floor Wage Cambodia published a post on their facebook page that detailed the outcome of the 9th Asia-Europe People’s Forum (9AEPF). Charles Hector reported the following:

“What was interesting was the outcome of the workshop entitled “Combating Erosion of Worker and Trade Union Rights”, which was attended by about 80-100 participants, who did at the end of the 3 1/2 hour program on the 18th afternoon come up with recommendations, all of which were discussed and adopted unanimously….

The call was for the abolition of outsourcing [i.e. the contractor for labour system], and short-term employment contract.

Regular employment with security of tenure until retirement

2-party employment relationships between principals or owners of workplaces as employers, and workers that work in the said workplaces as employees of the said principals and owners.”
§ For a more detailed look into the outcomes of the Forum, read the final declaration published on the AEPF website. There are quite a few interesting recommendations that are long overdue. Whether they will in fact be implemented is another story. After all, our dominant economic paradigm is driven by economic growth (defined in monetary terms) and efficiency (usually related to externalizing costs). Will we be able to force a paradigm shift by redefining the norms and values that underpin our economy? This seems increasingly likely as we begin to face major conflicts (Spain, Greece, Montreal, the Occupy movement etc…) spurred by our current system and the dismantling of the welfare state in favor of austerity measures that are slowly becoming the new status quo. When I consider the fact that Italy’s democratically elected leaders were replaced by undemocratically appointed technocrats, I can’t help but wonder if this is where we’re headed? To whom are governments accountable? If the answer is no longer citizens (and evidence suggests this is the case), then do we even have a say anymore? …let’s get back to fashion.

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§ And finally, Mary wanted me to add this article to the roundup: Mike Flanagan (Clothesource) questions the universality of workers’ rights in a recent “Flanarant” for Just Style.

Workers’ rights not a universal option

“Anyone believing that human rights abuses are endemic in offshore production should compare the levels of protection afforded to factory workers in the developing world supplying major Western brands with the experience of garment workers in the West. It’s not as clear-cut as it seems (JustStyle).”

 

EVENT// EFF’s SOURCE Expo 2012 Seminars

The ever-excellent Ethical Fashion Forum has decided to run the fourth SOURCE Expo, a trade show for ethical sourcing, online. What’s even more interesting is that their seminars (webinars) are free to attend!! This promises to be a very interesting event for both designers and consumers interested in learning more about responsible fashion. What an amazing opportunity to hear information directly from those working in the field, but space is limited so sign up now!

Here’s more info on this event:

What: “The event will showcase exemplary suppliers of sustainable fabrics and components, fair trade and ethical production units and factories from all over the world, and broker connections between suppliers, brands, and fashion professionals.

Through targeted online meeting spaces, a programme of seminars and 2 days of free access to extremely valuable sustainable sourcing information on SOURCE Intelligence, SOURCE Expo aims to open doors for suppliers all over the world- and make it easy for designers and brands to build sustainable supply chains.”

When: October 31st & November 1st 2012. (Sorry for the short notice!)

Where: Online, sign up in advance here.

Webinar details: October 31st will cover “The Issues” and include webinars covering Innovation, Changing lives, Environmental impact and Sustainable textiles showcase. November 1st is dedicated to “Fabrics and Suppliers” with the following webinars taking place: Artisanal excellence; Luxury, structure, stretch, drape and flow; Wools and heavyweights; Casualwear, large quantities and printing; Accessories and components.

Details for each webinar, including the time, can be found here.

Source: Ethical Fashion Forum’s The Ethical Fashion Source Intelligence

 

 

Mayamiko: Supporting women in Malawi through responsible fashion, London event

 

 

Will you be in London this Friday, Oct. 26th?

Mayamiko Trust is holding a fundraising event for their efforts in supporting women in Malawi through training and education, with all proceeds going towards building a skills and production centre.

‘Spark’, a creative fundraising event, will be held at Corbet Place, London (just off Brick Lane) on Oct. 26th at 7:00pm. The night will feature responsible designers, musicians, performers and artists.

Here Today Here Tomorrow (one of our featured ‘Projects for Change’ – right sidebar) will be showing work at the event.

For more information, click here.

Sounds like an amazing event! Good luck!

Helen Storey and Tony Ryan to Exhibit Catalytic Clothing at Manchester Science Festival

 

 

The Catalytic Clothing Story from Helen Storey Foundation on Vimeo.

As you know, we’re huge fans of Professor Helen Storey (London College of Fashion) and Professor Tony Ryan (University of Sheffield) for their breakthrough interdisciplinary work and research on such projects as Catalytic Clothing.

So, here’s some exciting news if you’re close to the UK: from October 27th to November 12th the Manchester Science Festival will be featuring projects Field of Jeans and The Soap Box.

Admission is free and you don’t have to book a space!

What is Catalytic Clothing?  

“Catalytic Clothing is a radical project that brings together the worlds of fashion and chemistry with the potential to clean the air we breathe […] Employing existing technology in a new way, it seeks to explore how clothing and textiles can be used as a catalytic surface to purify air. It is the brainchild of artist / designer Helen Storey and chemist Tony Ryan – people from very different worlds whose minds have come together over recent years in highly successful art/science collaborations.” (Catalytic Clothing)

Follow Catalytic Clothing on Facebook, here.

Follow Catalytic Clothing on Twitter, here.

Source: The Bulletin, Centre for Sustainable Fashion

Mind Map: Understanding Cause & Consequence [classroom ready worksheets]

 

 

When attempting to better understand any issue, there are two very important questions to consider:

1. Why does the issue exist?

2. What will happen if the issue persists?

With Nadira’s tried and tested mind-map formula, we’ve build four template worksheets for you to download for use in your own classrooms, using themes from each station in our SAGE module. Click on a theme to be taken to a page where you can view and download the worksheet:

To get you started, Nadira’s done a sample map, investigating the cause and consequence of increases in price of cotton clothing. Nadira’s mind map (imaged below) is included as the example for each of the worksheets and available to download and/or print as a hand-out (Page 2).

Let us know how you make out!

Social Alterations to present at ECO Fashion Week Vancouver: Oct. 19

 

 

Will you be in Vancouver, Canada, on October 19th?

Mary will be speaking at ECO Fashion Week this season, alongside Tara Sawatsky (Canopy), Martin Hojsik (Greenpeace International), Carly Stojsic (WGSN), Myriam Laroche (Eco Fashion Week), Katharine Shipley (Our Social Fabric), Mark Sklazeski (SustainU), and Melissa Ferreira (Adhesif Clothing).

 

When/Where?

  • 2:00pm @ Robson Square

Topics?

  • Textiles and Manufacturing
  • Labour and Manufacturing
  • Industry Trends
  • Consumer Behaviour and Awareness
  • Recycling and Upcycling

Click here for more information on the SMART TALK line-up.

The seminars are free, but you’ll need to register in advance to hold your place (limited seating).

If you’ll be there, please make sure to introduce yourself and say to Mary!

EFW Season 5 runs from Oct. 15 to 19th, click here to view the entire event details and schedule.

Welcome to the lab…

Social Alterations is a learning hub for responsible fashion. In the lab you’ll find lesson plans, activities, workshops, games, etc., all for… free! What’s the catch?

Well, if you want to learn with us, you’ve got to get serious about the social and ecological impacts of the fashion industry. Our education modules will do more than get you started, they’ll motivate you to inspire change.

 

LEARNING RESOURCES

TEACHING RESOURCES

 

 The #GET Stage

 The #MAKE Stage

 The #BUY Stage

The #TOSS Stage

Lesson 1:

Sifting Through the ‘Ecofashion’ Lexicon

  

Lesson 2:

Key Players

Lesson 3:

Global Governance and the Corporation

Lesson 4:

Corporate Social Responsibility

  

Fashion High:

Understanding the Impact of your Clothing

[Pre-16 Workshop]

  
 

Fibre Analysis:

Possible Social and Environmental Impacts

Responsible Fashion Roundup

The Social Alterations team is constantly coming across interesting content from a wide variety of sources. This is a curated selection of thought provoking reading we’ve done in the past month related to responsible fashion.

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§ Bangladesh’s garment sector woes made the New York Times twice in the last two months (granted, the first article was not published in September but it is very relevant and I highly recommend it):

Export Powerhouse Feels Pangs of Labor Strife

“As Bangladesh garment workers have seen their meager earnings eroded by double-digit inflation, protests and violent clashes with the police have become increasingly common (NY Times).”

Fighting for Bangladesh Labor, and Ending Up in Pauper’s Grave

“The murder of a labor organizer bore a grim familiarity in a country with a brutal legacy of politically motivated killings (NY Times).”

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§ It’s September and you know what that means in Uzbekistan. Once again, we see a mass mobilization of the Uzbek population to pick cotton. The Washington Times published an update on this year’s cotton harvest. We’ve covered this topic before on SA and we’ve also included Uzbekistan as the first station in our SAGE module where we also highlight the impact of the cotton industry on the Aral Sea. Vice places this into a wider context discussing the political implications of water scarcity in Central Asia.

Uzbek government breaks promise to end child labor in cotton fields

“Uzbekistan’s prime minister pledged last month to end child labor in the country’s cotton fields. But as the harvest season gets under way, human rights activists say children as young as 13 are being put to work under grueling conditions, despite extreme measures to recruit adult labor (The Washington Post).”

Is Central Asia on the Verge of a Water War?

“[A] new kind of conflict is rising in Uzbekistan and Tajikistan that could eventually lead to the first water war of the 21st century (Vice).”

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§ In textile news, FastCompany writes about the startup Modern Meadow and the possibility of lab-grown leather which takes BioCouture to a whole new level. Is this the sustainable alternative to today’s vegan leather?

In Five Years, You May Be Wearing A Lab-Grown Leather Jacket

“Modern Meadow–a lab-grown meat startup–is getting closer and closer to growing leather in a test tube. But that’s just the beginning. Why grow regular leather when you can use your lab to make leather better? (FastCompany, Co.Exist)”

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§ Speaking of vegan shoes, EcoSalon has decided to take a closer look at Melissa Shoes. Their conclusions closely resemble ours posted three years ago here & here.

Behind the Label: The sustainability claims behind Melissa Shoes

“Melissa shoes are widely assumed to be eco-friendly. However, they are made from PVC, which is widely known to be one of the most environmentally unfriendly plastics (EcoSalon).”

As Public Enemy said…

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§ And of course, everyone likes money, money, money! TreeHugger does not disappoint in this post on industry stats, but along with the economics of fashion, TH provide a small glimpse into the social aspects so often ignored….all with links to learn more!

25 Shocking Fashion Industry Statistics

“So many clothes, so many staggering statistics (TreeHugger).”

 

Six Items Challenge // Week 1

Well, we’re officially 12 days into our 4 week #SixItemsChallenge for Labour Behind the Label. We’ve written up our thoughts and feelings so far with the challenge (trust us that it is a challenge), and hope you’ll pop over to their site to hear about them. Please also check out the stylings and stories of our fellow ‘Sixers’ – they are rocking this challenge and making it look easy!

 

Links you’ll need if you want to connect: