Category Archives: Social

FEI: Call for Academic/Research Papers and Student Projects

Fashioning an Ethical Industry International Conference: Fast Forward will take place on the 2nd and 3rd March 2010. It will bring together educators, industry experts, academics and selected students to explore how fashion can be taught to inspire responsibility for the rights of the workers making our clothes.

Alongside our set programme of speakers with expertise in the industry, we will provide the opportunity for the presentation of academic research papers and for students to present their project or dissertation work at the conference.

Academic/Research Papers Papers are welcomed that address the following or related themes:

Social responsibility in the garment industry (with an emphasis on garment workers’ rights)
Teaching ethics within fashion education
Approaches to education for sustainable development relevant to fashion education

Students are invited to apply for the opportunity to showcase their project, design or dissertation work which addresses social responsibility in the garment industry. If you are a tutor please encourage your students to make a submission.

Academics and students interested in participating in this event should submit an abstract by 30th October 2009 of 500‐700 words to liz _at_ fashioninganethicalindustry.org (replace _at_ with@). For more information on submitting papers please see the attached PDF.

Source: FEI

Fairtrade Urban Shoes: Canadian Newcomer Oliberté and Veteran Veja

Thanks to Ethical Style for letting us know about Canadian designer Tal Dehtiar’s new shoe line, Oliberté. Oliberté claims to be the first footwear company to make urban shoes exclusively in Africa – based on Fairtrade principles. The shoes are made from locally sourced materials (leather and rubber) in West Africa (starting in January). Speaking on the issue of poverty in the continent, Dehtiar argues that “the only real way to alleviate poverty on this beautiful continent is to build a middle class that includes fair paying jobs.”

It will be interesting to see how this line develops. As of yet, there are no real details on the Fairtrade and/or environmental nature of its supply chain (i.e. wages or factory conditions- tanning leather is often associated with pretty nasty chemicals, as well as the harsh glues that may be used in assembly, etc.), as the company is not yet certified Fairtrade. I expect that more information on production will be made available on the website soon: Treehugger has reported that “[t]he company is working in partnership with factories to improve their environmental footprint. As they say: ‘we still have a long way to go, but we will continue to do all we can improve our materials, our production and our shoes.’ Oliberte will be supporting local training in the communities where they work.” Treehugger also reports that Oliberté is “consulting with the tanneries to meet environmental standards.” Thus, stay tuned for updates from this Canadian company.

One urban footwear company that has seemingly managed to maintain it’s foothold in Fairtrade manufacturing is Veja.

Veja Volley

If you aren’t already familiar with Veja, be sure to check them out straight away. Asking the question “Is another world possible?” Veja uses and supports wild latex production in the Amazonia to fight against deforestation:

Veja soles are made of natural latex coming straight from the Amazon Forest in the Chico Mendes reserve. The Amazon is the only place on earth where wild rubber trees are to be found […] Their activity, which does not require putting down any tree, is a great way to preserve the world’s largest forest. Natural rubber is renewable and biodegradable, as opposed to synthetic rubber or plastic, which is produced by using fossil and non-renewable materials.

Veja also uses organic cotton, supports family agriculture and local cooperatives and uses ecological leather rather than chrome tanned leather (Veja has defined ecological leather as “chrome-free leather tanned with organic compounds only”). For more up-to date information on the happenings over at Veja, be sure to follow their blog.

Sidebar: Veja has just launched its first line of ethical bags, four years after introducing its trainers.

Veja Projet Numero Deux2

About these bags: organic cotton and leather tanned without chromium.

Source: Ethical Style, Treehugger, Oliberté, The Globe and Mail, PR Web and Veja

Images courtesy of: Oliberté and Veja

Digital Patterns: Downloading the Future of Design

This is a design concept that attempts to decrease waste on the manufacturing and transportation end of the lifecycle of a garment and eliminate mass production. In the process, SANS has encouraged a new way for consumers to relate to their clothing to develop a relationship with the garment itself. Means of production and transportation, as well as material selection, are in the hands of the consumer. The result: “extravagant” and “complex” clothing does not need to come at such a high price (social, environmental, or $$$).

Source: Core77 and SANS

Social Alterations is now on Ning!

You can use this space to share and upload curricula ideas, lesson plans, visual aids, research and projects, or to just discuss the current happenings in the industry with respect to social issues and environmental concerns, as well as the latest trends in socially responsible design.

“See” you in the Forum! Oh…and don’t forget to pick up your Social Alterations Badge!

Visit Social Alterations

ILO launches book on “Forced labor: Coercion and exploitation in the private economy”

The International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition was August 23rd. To mark the occasion, the ILO (International Labour Organization) has launched a new book on forced labour, titled “Forced labor: Coercion and exploitation in the private economy.”

You can download the book’s Executive Summary in English, Spanish or French, here.

More than 200 years after a slave rebellion in the Caribbean sparked a movement that eventually led to the abolition of the transatlantic slave trade, an estimated 12 million people around the world still work under coercion in forced labour, slavery and slavery-like practices. The ILO Special Action Programme to Combat Forced Labour is marking the annual International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition on August 23 with the release of a new, comprehensive series of case studies and policy recommendations on forced labour and modern slavery in the world today.

The book titled Forced labour: Coercion and exploitation in the private economy¹ is based on more than six years of research and features case studies from Latin America, South Asia, Africa and Europe. It expands on the conclusions of the ILO Global Report on forced labour, entitled “The Cost of Coercion” published in May 2009, offering in-depth knowledge about deceptive recruitment systems, debt bondage and other forms of coercion, as well as fresh perspectives on law, policy and statistics.

¹ISBN 978-92-2-122681-9, a co-publication by the ILO and Lynne Rienner.

Source: ILO

Nike: Considered Design Ethos, Steve Nash and the “Sixty Million Dollar Man”

Nike's Considered Design shoebox

Nike has adopted an interesting approach to corporate social responsibility (CSR). As previously mentioned, the company has seemingly managed to connect its sustainability platform to its innovation platform. Trash Talk is one example, the packaging the shoe comes in is another:

The shoe will also be packaged in a new Considered Design shoebox. Like Nike’s first recycled content box in 1995, this new box is still made from 100 percent recycled fiber, but now features a new design which reduces the fiber content by approximately 30 percent. (CSRwire)

"Considered is not Compromising. It's rethinking." (Nike)

According to the company, “Nike’s Considered ethos challenges designers to use environmentally-preferred materials, reduce waste, create sustainable manufacturing processes and use innovation to help reduce our overall environmental impact.”

You can learn more about Nike’s Considered Design Ethos by visiting their Considered Design Index.

In terms of lifecycle analysis, however, Nike has set some goals that I believe are worth considering:

footwear to be Considered by 2011
apparel to be Considered by 2015
equipment to be Considered by 2020

All this will be done through the company’s Considered Design Ethos:

less toxics
less waste
more environmentally-preferred materials
sustainable product innovation

Are you up for the challenge? I’m not convinced the marketing campaign (below) will help motivate you…but hey, why not.

Source: CSR Wire, Nike, Nike and more Nike

Nike Talks Trash

Andrew Hartman, Design Director from Philips Design, Claudia Kotchka, Former Head of Design at Procter & Gamble, and Valerie Casey, Lead of Digital Experience Practice at IDEO and Founder of the Designers Accord, were among 20 star designer judges at the IDEA 2009: Designing a Better World competition that took place in May of this year.

Hartman stressed the importance for designers to deliver an experience to their client, rather than just an instance.
Kotchka expressed her belief that design thinking is a necessary tool for solving design challenges.
Casey spoke on the prioritization of sustainability as moving beyond trend. Casey referenced Nike’s success in marrying sustainability with innovation. This is not surprising considering the company won the International Design Excellence Award (IDEA) “Best in Show” for its Trash Talk shoes made from manufactured waste.

Nike Trash Talk

Gold Award/Best in Show
Category: Ecodesign
Design: Kasey Jarvis, Andreas Harlow, Fred Dojan, and Dan Johnson, Nike (U.S.)

This performance basketball shoe is made from manufacturing waste. It incorporates leftover materials—leather and synthetic leather, foam, and rubber—into new shoes without sacrificing any of the performance aspects that come from shoes made from virgin materials.

Source: BusinessWeek

Social Alterations: Forum

How can education foster sustainable change toward socially responsible fashion and apparel design and manufacturing practices?

Social Alterations hopes to foster socially responsible fashion design education through aggregating relevant material that will inspire fashion/textile and apparel instructors, researchers, designers and design enthusiasts to get on board with thinking about consequence in the industry.

Sign up to the Social Alterations Forum if you’re interested in sharing and contributing ideas on curriculum, research, projects, materials, design, etc. with this community.

FEI Staff Training and Student Workshops

Ethics have a high profile in the fashion industry today. Are you equipped, as a tutor or student, with the knowledge and skills to engage with these issues?

Fashioning an Ethical Industry (FEI) runs staff training and student workshops at schools, colleges and universities on themes related to working conditions in garment manufacture. Through our training events we encourage staff and students to critically examine different perspectives on workers’ rights and initiatives to improve conditions.
FEI training combines our extensive knowledge with a participatory educational approach, building on participants’ existing knowledge and experience and using a range of activities and different media such as films, role-play and presentations.

More info: Fashioning an Ethical Industry

Source: FEI