Tag Archives: DESIGN

LEARN // The WellMade Project

WellMade - Facebook banner image

 

A three year project that began in 2013, WellMade provides free online resources designed to help brands better support labour rights in their supply chains.

The Fair Wear Foundation (FWF) is lead partner on the initiative, working collaboratively with other partners and associates.

WellMade2

There are currently four specific case studies to assist brands:

(1) “You know those pants we ordered? We need them in a different color!”

(2) “I’m visiting a factory but I’m not a CSR specialist. What can I do to help?”

(3) “We have found labour problems in one of our factories. What should we do?”

(4) “Subcontracting: How can this small group of workers produce so many t-shirts?”

If you’re in Paris, you can catch the project for a free workshop tomorrow (10 Feb) at Texworld.

Follow WellMade on Facebook and Twitter for updates on resources, as well as future workshops and events.

Designing values, Cradle to Cradle

No matter where we sit—consumer, designer, marketer, researcher, educator, etc.—on the global apparel supply chain, our understanding of responsibility stems from our values, individual or shared.

By design, we start with values (William McDonough)

We must constantly ask ourselves: “What are my values? What are my intentions? Do they align? How do they translate in practice?” Easier said than done? Not with Cradle to Cradle (C2C) design theory: C2C encapsulates values in design, by design.

 

Designers Accord – Sustainability in 7 – Bill McDonough from Core77 on Vimeo.

Image Source: “Am I happier now?” image by Carlotta Cataldi, of Slow Fashion Forward

Video Source: Core 77, Sustainability in 7 (via the Designers Accord)

 

VIDEO//Parsons School of Fashion sits down with Mary Hanlon to talk Social Alterations and Responsible Design

Over the past few weeks, I’ve had the pleasure of sitting down with Tamara Albu, Director of the A.A.S. Fashion Design Program at Parsons School of Fashion in New York to discuss Social Alterations, and the work we’ve been doing in developing free, open-source curricula for students and educators.
Tamara asked me to sit down with her more formally and explain the project so that students and faculty at Parsons might get to know who we are and the work that we are doing.
 
Speaking with Tamara in this virtual space was a complete honour, and I am so happy to share this edited video with you here, along with the interview transcript. 

Parsons School of Fashion talks Responsible Fashion with Mary Hanlon from Social Alterations on Vimeo.

Interview Transcript

Tamara Albu (TA): Hello. My name is Tamara Albu, I direct the Fashion Design A.A.S. Program, at Parsons School of Fashion here in New York. We are here today, in a virtual space, creating a bridge between New York and Vancouver, so we can talk a bit about the Social Alterations online lab developed by Mary Hanlon, after completing her Graduate thesis.   

Mary Hanlon is the Founder, Editor and Lead Contributor of Social Alterations, and the winner of this year’s Fashioning the Future Award for “Systems for a Sustainable Fashion Industry” through the Centre for Sustainable Fashion at London College of Fashion.

Before beginning our conversation, I would like to thank David Goldsmith, one of our senior faculty, for introducing me to Mary.

It was fortunate that Mary Hanlon and David Goldsmith met recently at the Fashioning an Ethical Industry conference, in London. At the end of the event he talked about his strong belief that Mary’s website team and his research are a wonderful example of building the infrastructure for a “Fully-Fair” clothing and fashion industry.  As he explained, Fully-Fair means being fair–not only in the limited sense of fair-trade,–but fair environmentally, economically, culturally, and socially.

Soon after this, I visited your website to learn more about your online lab, Mary. I was so taken by this project that I started thinking how can I make your ideas known to our students and faculty, here at Parsons, as quickly and efficiently as possible.

What came to my mind, was we already had a lot of conversations online via Skype, so

I simply wanted to record our Skype discussions as quickly as possible and have them published on the Parsons’ School of Fashion blogazine.   

So, Mary, before we begin our main discussion—I would like you to perhaps say a few words about yourself. 

Mary Hanlon (MH): Hi Tamara! Thank you for speaking with me. It’s wonderful to talk with you here. Yes, I’d like to thank David Goldsmith for introducing us, first and foremost. I met David in early March, back at the Fashioning an Ethical Industry Conference in London. We got to talking there, and, you know, we were speaking the same language. So, I just want to thank him for putting us in contact, and also thank you, both of you, for taking an interest in Social Alterations.

It’s not enough to create great fashion, you have to understand why, what’s going to happen to that fashion later on, and what are the implications of what you’ve done (Simon Collins, Dean of Parsons School of Fashion)

TA: I’m certainly very interested in Social Alterations, and that’s why we are here today. So, let me begin by asking you my first question:  What exactly is Social Alterations?

MH: Social Alterations (SA) is an online lab built to educate fashion design instructors and students on the social, cultural, environmental and economic impact of their design choices.

It is an interactive website that, you know, hopes to create a space that will begin the conversation to bridge the gap between responsible design in theory and then responsible design in practice. So it’s a learning space, essentially, that wants to facilitate transformative design education.

I founded Social Alterations because my graduate research investigated the role of fashion design educators in teaching responsible fashion design. And, what I learned from that…you know, my research really showed that there was a knowledge gap within the industry, and I realized that there was an opportunity there to take the research I had done and put it outside of just the walls of my academia.

My passion for open-source learning guided me toward wanting to create an educational system that would be accessible to as many people as possible.

The Social Alterations Team is made up of myself, Nadira Lamrad, who is both a collaborator on this project as well as a contributing writer, and Katrine Karlsen, who is a contributor. It’s an international initiative. You know, while Nadira is based in Hong Kong, Katrine is writing from Norway, and I’m currently based in Vancouver, Canada.

TA: My goodness, this is a wonderful thing, they certainly are from all over the world; very interesting and exciting. Mary, let me ask you one other question, what do you mean by ‘transformative design education’ if you could develop a little bit more about that?

MH: Sure. I mean, we believe that interdisciplinary education is key to tackling these issues, because these are interdisciplinary issues. So our theme ‘Accessibility for Accountability,’ really shows that we want to help learners understand these issues by breaking down educational barriers: we want to provide them with the necessary tools to take on the challenge of responsible design, give them proper resources, create platforms for discussion, and build open-source curricula, within the interdisciplinary context. So when we talk about “responsible design,” we are talking about design that is educated on all of these issues.

TA: So, that leads me to a subject that is very close to me, but I’d like you to talk about it in relation to your project. Could you elaborate on what you mean by ‘open-source’ learning?

Mary: Sure. So, open-source learning for us is really about breaking down educational barriers. There is so much amazing research being done, that if we can harness this knowledge and aggregate the resources to deliver this through open-source systems. I mean, It’s exciting for us to imagine educators from across the globe coming together to discuss these issues. For example the open-source nature of Social Alterations allows educators and thought leaders from various disciplines (not just fashion design) to share their research in best practices for responsible design, but they can do so  in real-time, online. You know, so it doesn’t matter if you’re in Hong Kong, or if you’re in Toronto, if you’re in Vancouver, or if you’re in South America, it’s not the point. Location isn’t the matter, it’s a matter of getting access to the information that you need as quickly as possible, because the consequences of not having that information are very large.  

TA: You’re absolutely right, Mary. Can you tell us, what do you mean by ‘responsible design’?

MH: When we talk about “responsible design” on Social Alterations, we are talking about design that has considered, again, so environment, culture, society and economy to the absolute best of its abilities, at each stage of the design process.

Research has shown that so much of the consequences of design (you know, positive or negative) is actually known at the design stage. So while consumer education plays a huge role, of course, in shaping socially responsible fashion design, signals of deception, greenwashing for example, and unintelligent design, hidden ingredients….consumers basically are left to um, in many cases (of course not all cases), but in many cases, are left with no real choice—to pick from the best of the worst

But we believe the designer always has a choice at that design stage.

Material selection, for example is an obvious starting point. We have a “Fibre Analysis” that outlines the potential social and environmental consequences of commonly used fibres (that’s available online). And it’s this resource that we developed by aggregating resources that already exist, by pulling them together in one package so people have the answers they need right away.

Of course, the list of fibres in the analysis is no where near exhaustive, and so we’ll be working on further developing the content as we move forward. It’s an ongoing process.

TA: I’m so glad you mentioned all these, and I certainly hope that your project is going to continue and flourish and become, not only a source of inspiration but actually a source of information for so many designers interested in responsible design. Let’s go a little bit farther, and talk a little bit about the fact that you have argued that design educators have a responsibility to teach these issues. Could you explain?

MH: At the end of the day, the responsibility falls on the shoulder of the designer, primarily, because the designer is the creator of that product—of that garment

But if we go back and we think about the fashion design educator as having a responsibility—if we think of fashion design education as the point of intervention then the responsibility is lifted slightly off the shoulders of the designer and placed on the shoulders of the fashion/textile/apparel design educator.

So, to teach design practices that are culturally, socially, environmentally and economically supportive— that’s the responsibility of the design educator, is essentially what we’re arguing.

TA: Very well put. Okay, that leads me to my next question: what’s next?

Mary: Well, we’ll be looking to partner with various international stakeholders within the community (corporations, non-governmental organizations, environmental and Human Rights groups, social enterprises and educational institutions), and we’ll continue the process of developing the curricula, and pulling the resources together, and trying to deliver them in an edited capacity that makes sense—that people can use and absorb the knowledge that we’re presenting. I mean, it’s a really exciting time, because we have had such positive feedback coming from all sectors. There is a real opportunity for change here. I think that that’s pretty clear, so if we do the work, and we aggregate the resources, develop this content, and really pull it together for people so that they understand not just what’s at stake, but the choice that they can make moving forward to have control—take back control—is really powerful.

TA: Mary, I’d like to thank you very much for sharing this with all of us. I will certainly make sure that this information will be available online. Either our faculty and students will watch this video or they might prefer to read through the transcript, but the end result should be that we raise awareness for this project, and hopefully your website will  be visited more and more, and that of course will mean that your project will become even more successful than it is now.

MH: Thank you so much for taking the time to talk to me about this project. I hope that your readers will find it interesting, and that they’ll come and support us. And I really look forward to continuing this conversation. Thank you again, very much for your time. Thank you. Thank you very much Tamara!

TA: Thank you so much for allowing me to enter your space and interview you, I just want to add that I have been talking today with Mary Hanlon who is the Founder, Editor and Lead Contributor of Social Alterations, and the winner of this year’s Fashioning the Future Award for “Systems for a Sustainable Fashion Industry” through the Centre for Sustainable Fashion at London College of Fashion.  

I hope that you’re going to get a lot of followers—and I’m certainly already one of them! So, great talking to you!  

Call for Participants// Synthetic Aesthetics

Synthetic Aesthetic asks: How would you design nature?

The project is a collaborative effort between artists/designers and scientists/engineers that strives “to bring creative practitioners and those who are expert at studying, analysing and designing the synthetic/natural interface together with the existing synthetic biology community to help with the work of designing, understanding and building the living world.” (Synthetic Aesthetic)

Through the creation of “balanced exchanges” artists/designers will spend time in bioengineering labs, and scientists/engineers will spend their time in design studios, for 12 unique residencies.

The application deadline is fast approaching (March 31st), but there is still time to apply for this amazing project.

Call for participants:

We seek participants for a project on synthetic biology, design, and aesthetics. The project will provide funding to bring together scientists and engineers working in synthetic biology with artists, designers, and other creative practitioners. 

Resources will be made available for twelve funded ‘embedded residencies’, in which six artists and designers will spend two weeks in laboratories, and six scientists and engineers will spend two weeks in artistic studios and design workspaces (institutions or independent studios). The participants will be in six exchanges (synbio/creative), each pair spending four weeks working together over the project.  It is our intention that such collaborations will lead to presentable results, although the form these take is entirely open to the participants. Travel and accommodation expenses will be covered by the project.

We aim to construct the groundwork for future collaborations that could inform new types of engineering, new schools of art and design, and innovative approaches to the study of synthetic biology in society.

For application details, and for more information, click here.

Source: Core77

National Design Triennial: Why Design Now?

In 2009, Cynthia E. Smith, Curator of Socially Responsible Design at the Cooper-Hewitt hosted a discussion on responsible design, with Emily Pilloton, author of Design Revolution and Allan Chochinov, founder of Core77. The discussion was moderated by Susan Szenasy, Editor in Chief of Metropolis Magazine. Take a look!

If you find yourself in New York sometime between May 14, 2010–January 11, 2011, be sure to check out “Why Design Now” at the Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum.


“Inaugurated in 2000, the Triennial program seeks out and presents the most innovative designs at the center of contemporary culture. In this fourth exhibition in the series, the National Design Triennial will explore the work of designers addressing human and environmental problems across many fields of the design practice, from architecture and products to fashion, graphics, new media, and landscapes. Cooper-Hewitt curators Ellen Lupton, Cara McCarty, Matilda McQuaid, and Cynthia Smith will present the experimental projects and emerging ideas for the period between 2006 and 2009.” (Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum)

Title: National Design Triennial: Why Design Now?
Location: New York
Link out: Click here
Description: On view May 14, 2010–January 11, 2011

Watch// Compostmodern09

Designers think that they are in the artefact business, but they’re not, they’re in the consequence business.” (Allan Chochinov, Compostmodern09)

Some readers might recall that I attended Compostmodern09 via webcast back in February. Social Alterations was developed in many ways as a response to the call to action presented by the 09 speakers. Without shying away from the im/possible challenges of responsible design, they not only made change seem necessarily tangible and achievable, but did so with immense passion and, of course, sarcasm and wit.

The interdisciplinary nature of this conference—the key to its success— is inspirational. In my eager anticipation for compostmodern10, I have enjoyed revisiting the 09 presentations. I hope you will take the time to get to know these speakers, letting them in to inspire you on your journey toward change.

Click on the image below to view each presentation on the Compostmodern website.

compostmodern09

Community News

Shifu, via Sri Threads

If a product is not considered, they call it an inconsiderate design (Lorrie Vogel, on Nike designers creating their own vocabulary, Opportunity Green)

A roundup of some of the stories, headlines, and updates you may be interested in from in and around the community of socially responsible fashion design. This week’s roundup has a ton of videos—there is a lot going on in our community!

Core77

Next: “user centered ecosystems designs”

New production method: Enslaved spiders produce huge tapestry

 

Ecouterre

Does Greenwashing Exist in the Fashion Industry?

Ecotextile News

Eco-Textile Labelling Guide 2010

Ethical Style

‘18 Degrees of Inspiration’: 6 Degrees of Cool


More videos like this on www.t5m.com

My question is—will apparel brands and retailers demand new designers, merchandisers, and others who have committed to sustainability? Or will they continue hiring only those prepared to make financially cut-throat decisions for the sake of profits and margins? (Marsha Dickson, Discussion Forum: Just Style.com)

CSR Questions Arise About Project RED

Joel Makower: Two Steps Forward

Copenhagen Gets Down to Business

Just-Style.com

Discussion Forum, INSIGHT: Design education is key to sustainable fashion

MakeShift

Happy 100 Days to the MakeShift Project! SA had the chance to interview designer Natalie Purschwitz—click here to listen to this podcast, and others.

The Story of Stuff

Remembering Bhopal

The Story of Cap & Trade: Why you can’t solve a problem with the thinking that created it

The Uniform Project

Holiday Drive, double your donation: “eBay will match every dollar you donate during this holiday season up to $15k. If you’ve been waiting to donate, there is no better time than now.” (The Uniform Project) Click here to read more about the project.

The Uptake

Hopenhagen? No, thanks: Naomi Klein on COP15

Treehugger

Versace, Valentino, and Prada Packaging Supplier Cuts Ties With Rainforest Paper Producer

The Catwalk at COP15: Sustainable Fashion Design Competition in Copenhagen (Video)

Nike Considered’s Lorrie Vogel at Opportunity Green on Creating a Sustainable Design Ethos (Video)

University  of Delaware, UDaily

Fashion and Apparel Studies instructor promoting sustainability worldwide

Sri Threads

The Art of Shifu: Hiroko Karuno’s Original Interpretation of Traditional Woven Paper

Social Alterations has been in the news over the past few weeks for our upcoming interview with Noko Jeans (stay tuned!), and for Fashioning the Future:

Caution: Shameful Self Promotion Ahead!

CSR Asia

Your jeans are from North Korea

Ex-CSR Asia intern wins Sustainable Fashion Industry Award

Treehugger

London College of Fashion Draws Designs for the Future

Arts Thread

Fashioning the Future 2009 Awards, London

Glass Magazine

Fashioning the Future 2009

Winners Announced! Fashioning the Future

Miriam Rhida

Miriam Rhida

I’ve got some exciting news to share with you! On November 25th I won the “Systems for a Sustainable Future Award” in the Fashioning the Future international student competition. This competition is run through the Centre for Sustainable Fashion at London College of Fashion. There were 5 winners in total, each representing five separate categories, with forty finalists over all. I’m excited to have had the opportunity to showcase and share my graduate research, and this website.

 

Emma Rigby

Emma Rigby

Zoe Fletcher won the Enterprise & Communication Initiative for a Future Fashion Industry Award (Highly Commended: Ruby Hoette and Julia Crew)

Varun Gambhir won the Role of Materials in a Sustainable Fashion Industry Award (Highly Commended: Karina Micheal)

Mary Hanlon won the Systems for a Sustainable Fashion Industry Award

Miriam Rhida won the Design for a Thriving Fashion Industry Award (Highly Commended: Eleanor Dorrien-Smith and On Ying Lai)

Emma Rigby won the Water – The Right for All Citizens of this Planet Award (Highly Commended: Anne Prahl).

 

 

International competitions such as the Fashioning the Future awards offer students the chance not only to showcase their work, but to benchmark themselves against other students in their field at the international level.

Please visit the Centre for Sustainable Fashion to check out the details of the competition, and the full list of finalists! For more images, check out this photo gallery from The Guardian.

On Ying

On Ying

Also, if you are in London, be sure to stop by London’s City Hall and London College of Fashion to check out the highlights from the 2009 awards. Here are the details:

FASHIONING THE FUTURE AT CITY HALL, 19 November – 4 December 2009
Highlights of the 2009 awards to be showcased at London’s City Hall, with thanks to the London Sustainable Development Commission.
Open to the public, free of charge.
Greater London Authority, City Hall, The Queen’s Walk, London SE1 2AA

FASHIONING THE FUTURE AT FASHION SPACE GALLERY, 16 November – 11 December 2009
Highlights of the 2009 awards to be showcased at London College of Fashion.
Open to the public, free of charge.
London College of Fashion, 20 John Princes Street, London W1G 0BJ

 Congratulations everyone! And thank you for your support!

 

Images via The Guardian

THEKEY. T(W)O

THEKEY T(W)O

Be part of the {Shift}Title: THEKEY. T(W)O
Location: Germany
Link out: Click here

THEKEY.TO was successfully launched in July 2009. Its start leads back to the visionary idea of an international team of interdisciplinary professionals who decided to give birth to the first international event for green fashion, sustainable lifestyle and culture in Berlin.

THEKEY.TO is the ideal event to spot new trends and visions in the fashion industry. It aims at showcasing a strong selection of future minded brands that stand out for their style and for their green approach. Through the labels’ selection and the intense cultural program THEKEY.TO aims at spreading the signal that the shift towards an era where coolness and a strong sense for quality and responsibility are naturally interlinked, is already possible. It’s now!

THEKEY.TO is a forum of sustainability providing a platform for the interchange of information, culture and spontaneous networking, with an intense event program including expert workshops and forums with international guest speakers.

According to their website, THEKEY. T(W)O’s full program will not be up until Dec. 14th. We’ll be sure to keep you updated when the info is available-stay tuned!

Start Date: 2010-01-20
End Date: 2010-01-23

Source: THEKEY. T(W)O and Ecotextile News

Curb Your Consumption

MA Design Studies (MADS) student, Katie Hart has recently launched an initiative set to investigate the relationship between consumer behavior and over-consumption. Through the online lab, Curb Your Consumption, Hart shares her research and ideas, bringing together resources, news, events, and links on the subject.

Her final project explores patterns of consumption within the UK. Along the way, Hart hopes to “work with a diverse range of consumers to:

  • Educate and communicate the problems with over-consumption of fashion products in the UK
  • Understand what consumers need in order to actually change their behaviour (i.e. labelling, information pack, seminars etc)
  • Contribute to a grassroots movement of positive change in consumer behaviour” (Hart, About Me)

Here are some of the exciting things happening over on her site:

Hart has created a large visual artifact that illustrates “the problem with fashion overconsumption, and the global torment we are creating with this excessive spending” (Hart, About My Project). She will also be conducting a series of workshops. If you are interested in participating, be sure to contact her. Her book, titled Buy Now. Pay Later – today’s treasure is tomorrow’s trash, will soon be available on her site, and she is currently working on what she calls “bite-size learning materials” on the following topics:

  • Fibres and Fabrics – taking the microscope to our clothes
  • The hands that touch our fashion – a journey into the histories of our garments
  • Fast Fashion – the issues
  • Recycling/Reuse – what to do with your clothes when they are worn out

If you would like to learn more, be sure to follow Hart on her journey toward solutions for sustainable consumption and learn how you can ‘curb’ your consumption habits.

***Will you be in London the first week of December? Her work will be on display at the MA Design Studies Final Exhibition, Applied Imagination – Bringing Method to the Madness at T2 Truman Brewery – from 4th – 8th December 2009.

Here are some images of her work via the online lab:

The_global_problem with fashion2     So Far_So What     The_global_problem with fashion

For more images, visit Curb Your Consumption.

MADS is a graduate program offered through Central Saint Martins. For more information on the program, click here.