Category Archives: Social

Update: Women Exploiting Women

In March, SA followed The National Labor Committee (NLC) as they cited sweatshop conditions in a Guatemalan factory manufacturing clothing for Briggs New York (80%) and Lane Bryant (remaining 20%) clothing.

The NLC is now reporting that the workers have won their right to healthcare.

“Significant health and safety improvements have been implemented. All overtime will be voluntary. Vacation time and pay will be honored. And workers are guaranteed their right to defend their legal, women’s and labor rights-including the right to organize an independent union. CEADEL will help train factory supervisors on respect for human, women’s and worker rights. CEADEL will also verify factory conditions to guarantee that the agreement is fully implemented.

This campaign proves that international solidarity combined with the effective and dedicated work of local nongovernmental organizations such as CEADEL can result in major victories for workers across the developing world.” (NLC)

The NLC is also asking for support with its petition- a call to action that demands G20 leaders to protect, and not ignore, workers rights. The petition is demanding that “world leaders do something positive and concrete to protect some of the most vulnerable workers anywhere in the world.” (NLC)

Drawing attention to the danger and misery of child labor in Bangladesh’s shipbreaking yards, the petition asks the G20 to empower the International Labor Organization (ILO), to establish the rule of law, and to implement basic safety provisions.

The petition is directed towards Britain’s Prime Minister Gordon Brown, as he is the chair of the G20 this year. Click here to sign the petition, and to support international workers rights.

This video, “Where Ships and Workers Go to Die” highlights Bangladesh’s controversial shipbreaking yards.

Source: NLC

Update II: Forced Labour in Uzbekistan

: Children working the cotton fields this year in Uzbekistan.

In August, SA posted an update on Uzbekistan’s forced and child labour in the Cotton sector. SA continues to follow the story and unfortunately, matters have continued to decline. As expected, the Uzbek government is once again relying on forced and child labour during this year’s harvest season. The Cotton Campaign (through Ferghana.ru) reports that 8 out of 12 provinces have kicked off a mass mobilization into the cotton fields. It is quite disappointing to learn that this practice continues in Uzbekistan despite government guarantees that child labour is banned. Perhaps the trouble is that there continues to be a market for Uzbek cotton regardless of the way it is harvested. We urge you to head over to Cotton Campaign and sign the petition against Child Labour in Uzbekistan.

The Cotton Campaign also points to an Independent World Report article on this issue that points out that Unicef, which has a significant presence in Uzbekistan, is not addressing this situation. The article also targets two major retailers, H&M and Inditex (Zara and Bershka), that are both sourcing some of their garments from suppliers in Bangladesh which in turn source some of their cotton from Uzbekistan. One of the excuses used by some brands is that it’s difficult to trace the source of a garment’s cotton. The article dismissed this excuse with a quote from Juliette Williams from the Environmental Justice Foundation:

“Identifying the source of cotton used by major brands and all the steps along the supply chain is possible. It can be done and has been done. No one thinks that tracing cotton is simple. But, it is certainly not impossible. Look at companies like Tesco and Wal-Mart, which have made a public commitment to avoid Uzbek cotton. The fact that cotton at its various stages of production and processing is traded internationally is important, as there is always paperwork that enables transit through customs. In short, we know that at every stage somebody knows where the cotton is coming from. Companies need to spend some effort, ask the right questions and let their suppliers know what is required, or, in the case of Uzbek cotton, what they want to avoid. They do it for quality reasons, why not for ethical reasons too?”

We would like to know more about the traceability issue. Is it really as difficult as some claim? What are the factors that are preventing some brands from moving forward on this? We would like to hear from you. Please help us learn about this and leave a comment below or contact us.

Special thanks to Cassandra Cavanaugh from Cotton Campaign who let us know that Kohl’s has now joined the boycott.

Source: Cotton Campaign, Ferghana.ru & Independent World Report.

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

Watch//Read: Thinking Design w/ IDEO’s Tim Brown through Living Climate Change

Social Alterations is happy to report that Tim Brown’s new book, “Change by Design: How Design Thinking Transforms Organizations and inspires innovation” is now available.

Tim Brown is CEO at IDEO, and is responsible for promoting the participatory design theory “design thinking.” Design thinking requires the designer participate in the process, to move “beyond the latest high street products” (Brown, TED: Sep, 09) He believes that designers need to focus “less on object, and more on design thinking as an approach” (Brown, TED: Sep, 09). In this way, the human centred component of design thinking asks designers to consider the design brief outside of pure aesthetics, image and fashion (Brown, TED: Sep, 09).

IDEO has also just launched a new site called Living Climate Change to expand the conversation on climate change through design thinking:

“One of the most important ideas about design thinking is that it creates new ideas that provide new choices for business and society. As we move toward December and the climate change negotiations in Copenhagen I worry that we have far too few ideas to talk about. It is all too easy to argue over what we will have to give up in the search for significant reductions in carbon and yet there is very little discussion about what we might create as we try to resolve the most significant challenge humanity has yet faced.” (Tim Brown, Design Thinking)

Our Invitation To You from IDEO on Vimeo.

For a list of other books related to socially responsible design, be sure to check out our Reading Section.

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

Watch: The Green Fashion Shows//Bahar Shahpar and Lara Miller

Check out this video of ethical fashion designers Lara Miller and Bahar Shahpar at the Green Fashion Shows interviewed by Chloé Jo (GirlieGirl Army) and Joshua Katcher (The Discerning Brute). This is only the first video in a series of 5, so stay tuned here for the next installments.

In the first segment, Bahar Shahpar’s explains how design can be utilized to preserve culture and history-without sacrificing the integrity of the garment. She also discussed the role of the designer in communicating such preservation.

DBTV: Girlie Girl & The Brute at The Green Shows, Pt 1 from The Discerning Brute on Vimeo.

Source: GirlieGirl Army

MADE-BY + EDUN = Improved living conditions in Africa through clean cotton

MADE-BY is celebrating 5 years by partnering with ethical fashion company EDUN for a design competition. The contest will run in October, with the winning design (presented December 16^th) will have created a limited edition T-shirt, sold online and through selected retailers throughout Europe. Partial proceeds will be donated to the Conservation Cotton Initiative (CCI), an initiative dedicated to helping farmers in Africa make the move away from conventional cotton, and toward pesticide-free organic cultivation.

Source: Centre for Sustainable Fashion

Sustainable Fashion Forum (SFF)

Title: Sustainable Fashion Forum
Location: Hong Kong
Link out: Click here
Description:

“Sustainable Fashion Forum (SFF) is an interactive half-day event for the fashion industry to come together and discuss a like-minded concern: The Sustainability of Fashion. The forum will address issues such as ethical sourcing, eco-friendliness, moving beyond green washing, what best practice means today, profitability and innovation.”

The Sustainable Fashion Forum is supported by Worldwide Responsible Accredited Production (WRAP).

Session 1: What is Sustainable Fashion?

Session 2: Is Sustainable Fashion Profitable?

Session 3: Who is Sustainable Fashion?

For more information on sessions and panellists, and to register online, click here.

Click here for the press release.

Start Time: 1:30
Date: 2009-10-07
End Time: 6:30

Centre for Sustainable Fashion Competition: Fashioning the Future

Image via Centre for Sustainable Fashion, London College of Fashion

“Fashioning the Future brings together a global community of creative thinkers and doers, designers, innovators and entrepreneurs ready to offer the fashion industry opportunities for the future.

Founded in 2008, Fashioning the Future has been developed to include a wider range of disciplines, now with seven separate awards, celebrating and promoting a generation of emerging talent for the fashion industry of the future.

The possibilities for our future lie in the ingenuity of our creative minds. The competition is the leading international platform for celebrating innovation in sustainable fashion design, development and communication and we hope students and recent graduates from across the global fashion industry are inspired and excited to contribute through their work.

The underlying issue of consumption, the theme for the 2008 awards, will continue to be a crucial issue to fashion and its sustainability. Aligned to this, the theme for 2009 is Water, and there is a specific cross-discipline award focusing on this.”

Closing date 7 October 2009 at 1600hrs GMT.

Source: Centre for Sustainable Fashion, London College of Fashion