articles and magazine references

An expose on the fashion industry written by the Observer's 'Ethical Living' columnist, examining the inhumane and environmentally devastating story behind the clothes we so casually buy and wear. Coming at a time when the global financial crisis and contracting of consumer spending is ushering in a new epoch for the fashion industry, To Die For offers a very plausible vision of how green could really be the new black. Taking particular issue with our current mania for both big-name labels and cheap fashion, To Die For sets an agenda for the urgent changes that can and need to be made by both the industry and the consumer. Far from outlining a future of drab, ethical clothing, Lucy Siegle believes that it is indeed possible to be an 'ethical fashionista', simply by being aware of how and where (and by whom) clothing is manufactured. The global banking crisis has put the consumer at a crossroads: when money is tight should we embrace cheap fast fashion to prop up an already engorged wardrobe, or should we reject this as the ultimate false economy and advocate a return to real fashion, bolstered by the principles of individualism and style pedigree? In this impassioned book, Siegle analyses the global epidemic of unsustainable fashion, taking stock of our economic health and moral accountabilities to expose the pitfalls of fast fashion. Refocusing the debate squarely back on the importance of basic consumer rights, Siegle reveals the truth behind cut price, bulk fashion and the importance of your purchasing decisions, advocating the case for a new sustainable design era where we are assured of value for money: ethically, morally and in real terms.

Inspiration from Magazine research

• Ecologist PCO Fashion style and substance magazine
• A to Z of eco fashion magazine.

For my project i was considering looking into Ethical values, and how this can have a massive impact on todays society. But first i wanted to research what the term `ethical` meant?

Ethical means many different things to many different people. For some people it means that the product is environmentally friendly or made from organic or recycled materials. For others it means clothes made by artisans or small producers. Other people may understand it to mean buying second hand or locally sourced goods.

I then furtherned my research, and began looking into different areas of fashion....

Reduce, Re-use, Recycle

Between 2001-2005 the number of garments bought per person in the UK increased by over one-third. We are buying proximally 2.15 million tonnes of new clothing each year. Estimates differ as to how much is discarded. DEFRA says “1.1 million tonnes of textiles are thrown away in household bins every year, where as a recent report by the institute for manufacturing at Cambridge University put the figure higher, at 1.8 million tonnes. To pit in perspective, a single tonne of textiles fills roughly 200 black bin bags imagine 220 million black bin bags sent to landfill and you get an idea of why people believe we should reduce our buying reuse and recycle. According to waste watch, two million shoes are thrown in the rubbish bins in the UK every week.

Upcycling

Recycling textiles saves energy and if no recolouration takes place, it can save water and chemicals too. The recycling process uses only half as much energy as it takes to produce a fabric from virgin fibre. However, when textile fibres are recycled, they are downgraded almost immediately into low quality end-uses such as wiping rags or mattress filling. Most recycling is `down recycling` because it reduces the quality of the product over time. `Upcycling` is reusable whereby the items quality remains the same or is increased for example by refashioning.

London fashion week- Esthetical eco designers illustrate issues for which cutting edge designers are fighting from eco fabrics to ethical trade. Eco fashions message, tends to take procedure over its aesthetic. Eco fashion is looking and becoming as prominent and as confident as its attitude (by Matilda Lee)

Designers- Orsola de Castro and mark Lin, Gary Harvey, Junk styling uses fashion industry off cuts, Nahui Ollin and shoe designer Terra Plana.

Reclaiming and recycling also extends to things such as plastic bottles, old quilts and even sweet wrappers, all have which been used to make fashionable clothing and accessorises.

Whether its `upcycling`, zero waste design or reclaimed to wear, eco designers are giving recycling a real edge.

Two million tonnes of consumer clothing waste is generated in the UK each year. Two thirds of this goes to landfill, while only 16% is recovered. Most of which is exposed over seas. To ensure that `end of life` equals the `beginning of the nest life` we need more procedure responsibility schemes, a much higher tax on landfill, and education and awareness of the impacts of our throwaway culture. Positive moves to address the issue are considered by ……

• UK charity shops resell as few as 8% of clothes they receive, most are exported over seas.

• Garment workers typically get 0.5% of the retail price of a garment

• Labels such as people tree, Shyam Narayan Prasad and Nitin Bal Chauhan are all making their mark in expanding ethical trade.

Slow clothing

We live in an increasingly throwaway culture, where much of our clothing purchases are discarded after 6 months, where the average women spends £13,000 over a lifetime on clothes she doesn’t wear, and less than 2% of what we spend on clothing goes to their repair and cleaning. New fashions come and go at a faster pace than ever before-now that collections can be turned around in a matter of weeks, some retailers have up to 15 `seasons`.

Fast fashion

Such fast fashion clothes are produced with little care, using low-quality fabrics. As eco designer Kate Fletcher says “fast isn’t free – someone somewhere is paying. Fast fashion is disconnected from everything, for poverty wages to climate change. Slow fashion is not time-based; it is about producing, designing and consuming better”. Slow clothes are designed and made to last, and are outliving fast.

Monsoon and accessorize, are a founder member of Ethical trading initiative (ETI), which ensures that suppliers uphold standards relating to working conditions, pay and employment rights.

Junk Styling

Through extensive travels, teenagers into their early 20`s, Annika Sanders and Kerry Seager observed the prevalence of recycling in other cities such as San Francisco and Tokyo and the resourcefulness of people in Vietnam and Thailand. On returning to London they were inspired to recycle clothes for themselves. Taking old men’s suits (bought from second hand charity shops) and turning them into experimented pinstripe and tweed creations to wear in London clubs in the early 1990`s. They wear quickly commissioned to make outfits for friends, which led to a stall in Kensington Market. Junk Styling is a company known for its suit transformations and creates timeless, deconstructed, re-cut and completely transformed clothing. No two pieces are the same, as Junk Styling believes in celebrating individuality. Aside from its `off the peg` collection, the junk styling business has evolved and now offers a `wardrobe surgery` service, giving customers the opportunity to bring in favourite garments that are out of date or damaged, to be reworked into new made-to-measure designer creations.

“The people who wear Junk Styling are creative people who believe in expressing their style through recycled individualism”, Kerry says.

Katherine E Hamnett

Katherine E Hamnett is dedicated to making only ethically and environmentally friendly clothes, and preserving traditional skills.

“I started a new label in 2003 out of frustration at the industry refused to take on these values”, says Katherine.

The collection includes killer slogan t-shirts and sweatshirts for men, women and children, ethically made from 100% organic cotton and printed to Soic Association standards. It also includes forever bags for men and women in chrome-free, vegetable-tanned leather, made in collection with Jas MB. All printing and processing made must comply with Katherine’s environmental policy, which covers all inputs into garments zips are made or organic cotton zip tape, and pullers and buttons are made from sustainable materials such as corozo(tagua nut) and recycled polyethylene bags, with recycled card swing tickets, and transport is by sea. The collection is stocked in Selfridges, urban outfits, Bifi,Corette,Libertys,Galeries La Fayette, Citadium, and seven and Barneys among others…..

From Somewhere

From somewhere began trading in 1997 with a small capsule collection of second-hand jumpers and cardigans, rescued from their inevitable customized with trims and detail. Originally sold exclusively as The Cross in London, `From Somewhere` was quickly noticed by buyers internationally, and what had started as a one-product, one-season wonder became one of the first labels consistently to address the issue of waste within the fashion industry. The operating principle behind the label is simple; what happens to the industry’s waste at the end of each producing season? Where do all the designer leftovers go? Often the answer is in the bin and then to landfills or incinerators. They are a product of the world’s most frivolous trade and one of the most populating. Each garment lies in its uncompressing balance between a contemporary approach, to fashion design and a poetic and ethical solution to borrowing from past treasures for our modern needs.

Ciel

Hip and Luxurious, Ciel is a women’s wear label that unites intelligent eco-design with socially conscious production methods. Designer Sarah Ratty incorporates ethical and environmental considerations in various aspects of her collections from guidelines on using low wash temperatures to running a carbon-neutral company. Sarah is a design consultant on the Soil Associations Textile Advisory Committee, and vice chair for Ethical fashion forum, helping to create a benchmark for ethical and organic eco-clothing.

“I design clothes for hip, stylish and fashionable people who don’t want to sacrifice style for content: Sarah says. These who wear Ciel include the likes of Joanna Yarrow, Cate Blanchett, Sienna Miller, and eco guru Lucy Siegle.

Mark Lio

Mark Lio is a high end fashion label pioneering the practice of `zero waste design`. In every cut and sewn garment proximally 15% of the materials are wasted in the cutting process. Wasted materials are a loss in profit and bad for the environment.

“The idea of the zero waste design process began when I worked in the fashion and textile industry in Australia” says mark. “It became apparent to me how much material was being wasted in the cutting process and no-one really considered how efficient it was. I realised garments that did not create waste material would be an elegant solution”.

Davina Hawthorne

Davina Hawthorne is a fashion and textile designer. Her work shows a combination or recycled, industrial, handcrafted techniques creating interesting forms and unique pieces. Wrapping, layering, handcrafted details and subtle prints are key features of her work and her fitting of clothes work sculpturally to the body.

Enamore

Enamore has a playful, romantic, nautrical theme. Fabrics are a delightful mix of 100% organic cotton. She uses fabrics with a minimum of 55% organic and recycled content.

Nature VS future

Nature VS future believes in minimising waste so creates clothes to be collected and worn until they wear out or not discarded after a season. The name Nature VS future was inspired by the designer’s belief that there is a constant struggle between nature and future, a tension between organic forces and technological ones.

Lyla Patel

Lyla Patel works for a trade who are responsible for the award wining TRAID Remade Collection. The label gives `damaged clothing a new lease of life by deconstructing, ripping, and cutting, sewing and printing. Old shorts and flock curtains become a pair of gorgeous high wasted trousers, r a torn skirt is transformed by clever use of appliqué.