I like it when Drapers arrives through my door each Friday. A point that just jumped out at me this morning was Drapers Review of the Year where it talks about the supply crisis. I've already mentioned the cotton issues, which was the major cause of supply issues, however drapers also state, "with rising labour costs in China - pay went up 30% this year - businesses were forced to look elsewhere, notably Bangladesh."
I am aware that this is the reality, but it makes me so sad that it is felt to be the only option. The Chinese workers deserve that pay increase, but of course consumers in the West are accustomed to low prices. Retailers have spent the last few decades chasing cheap labour, sooner or later consumers are just going to have to accept how much it costs to make clothes ethically.
Bangladesh is still one of the worst (ethically speaking) places to manufacture, and therefore the cheapest. Just this week 31 workers were killed in a factory fire in Bangladesh, and 200 injured.
Drapers put cotton farmers as the 3rd most influential player in the fashion industry for 2010.They published the list last Friday of their top 100 most influential people in the fashion industry of the last year.First place went to Christopher Bailey of Burberry, no surprise considering the shearling boot and aviator jacket were probably the most covetable items of the year (making me dreamy just thinking about them).2nd place went to the bosses at All Saints, and then came the cotton farmer.Perhaps a surprising choice, but all considering, the rise in cotton prices has of course had a major effect on the industry.A ban on cotton exports from India at the start of the year, poor cotton harvests in China and flood-hit Pakistan put a severe squeeze on supply.The price per pound reached new record highs on a near monthly basis and rose past the $1 (64p) per pound mark for the first time in 15 years.This has led retailers with a bit of a dilemma, pass the price rise on to the consumer or take it out of their own profits?This could be another factor in pushing a gradual change in the way we shop, as rock bottom prices for new clothes are not going to continue to be sustainable.
I've just discovered this cool website. Its meant for kids but I think its worth people of all ages looking. TrackmyT.com allows you to see the journey that your cotton t-shirt has come on. Users can type in a code from their Tshirt (made by Anvil Knitwear who designed the site) or they can track a random tee. Its a great approach to show young people where their clothes come from, I think its really important that they understand what a long process the supply chain is, and how many people are involved.
Timberland have a strong CSR commitment.In 2008 they launched their long term CSR strategy, based around 4 ‘pillars’, these being Energy, Product, Workplace and Service.Their main aim under the Energy pillar was to become carbon neutral by 2010.Sounds great doesn’t it!But for such a large global company to become carbon neutral, seems too good to be true?However, closer inspection shows that this commitment only covers their direct carbon emissions from their own factories, shops and offices, which is in fact, only 4% of their overall carbon footprint.The other 96% comes from the carbon footprint associated with their supply chain.Misleading points like this make me wonder whether it’s more for the good of their image than the environment, however, every little helps!It is good that they are doing something rather than nothing, setting the wheels in motion.Of course it is now the end of 2010 and Timberland haven’t quite reached their carbon neutral goal, due to ‘increase in air travel caused by the rebound in our business’.It’s worth keeping up with their developments at http://community.timberland.com/Corporate-Responsibility/csr
Last night I watched the first episode of a fascinating new three part documentary, ‘The Food that makes Billions.’ It explores how companies have made billions branding and selling everyday items, such as water, cereal and yoghurt. The big question in last night’s programme was, is it right to be making money from selling water when millions of people across the world don’t have access to clean water? And then there is the absurdity in bottling water in one country and shipping it to another country, in a plastic bottle.
Amongst the Evian and Pure Life, however, was One Water. One Water comes at the market from a totally different angle as they are part of a charity that works with communities in Africa to address their humanitarian needs. What a fantastic idea! I suggest looking out for this when you next get thirsty, and you will be helping an African family have safe drinking water. It also reminded me of a few years ago when I did conservation work in Honduras. I helped with a recycling project while I was there, sorting through plastic bottles that had been left in the recycling bins, or collected from the beach. Bottled water was necessary there, compared to at home, but the bottles still made a horrible mess - it wasn't a fun job.
I have been doing voluntary work at my local museum, helping move the needlework and textiles collections to a new location. I love it, it doesn't bother me that I'm giving up my time for free because I'm learning so much. They mainly have local church textiles, school uniforms, smocks and bonnets and accessories. They also have samplers like the one above, the pieces that young girls would work on at school to show different stitches.
It's amazing seeing the time and care that has gone into making these objects by hand. Things are so different now - we can pop into a shop and buy a new garment so cheaply and because its so cheap and easy to acquire we get rid of it just as easily. I sometimes think I'm in the wrong time! Back when textiles were made with love and treasured, that has to be better?? I know the 'slow textile' movement is around, I went to a conference about it last year, but it needs to be more mainstream.
If you missed Dispatches, C4, on Monday its worth catching up with it. The episode, called Fashion's Dirty Secret, showed workers producing clothes for the High Street in sweatshop conditions, not in India or Bangladesh, but in the UK. It's not a total shock that places like this still exist in the UK, but I didn't expect them to be making High Street clothes. An undercover reporter took a job in a factory in Leicester for three months, during which time he was paid £2.50 an hour to make clothes for Bhs, New Look and Peacocks, among others. He wasn't given safety equipment and was put under huge pressure to finish orders. Most of the workers are illegal immigrants, so I guess its this or leave the UK.
The big retailers said the factory was not up to their ethical standards, and they weren't aware that their suppliers had outsourced the work. How frustrating! Its the retailers responsibility to know the output that each supplier can provide in a certain time span, if they are putting pressure on the suppliers then they should know it will be subcontracted - but they turn a blind eye. I wonder what happened to all the people working there?
I visited Manchester at the weekend and popped into the Museum of Science and Industry. They have a Textiles Gallery which is well worth a visit. It was especially relevant for my thesis work as it covers the cotton industry which was so vital for the growth of the area. There were plenty of original machinery to see such as this spinning machine. I also love the piece of artwork - the top made from seed heads, or what I call 'fairies!'.
I have now finished designing the questionnaire for my thesis. My thesis question,
How are fashion companies currently communicating to consumers the environmental and social impacts of producing a cotton garment at the point of sale? has required two main research methods - case study, and survey.
The aim of the survey is to find out what the public know about sustainable textiles, and their priorities when shopping. Choosing the sample was difficult because ideally, it would be representative of everyone in the country, but that's too much work just for me! I chose a sample of 18 to 30 year olds because they are the most likely to shop regularly and buy fast fashion, but also they are part of a generation which is having to think more sustainably and will have to change their habits as time goes by. I'm hoping to get a good couple of hundred responses at least. I'm really interested to see what answers people give, because as this has been my life for the last year, its easy to forget that not everyone thinks in the same way as me, or even cares!
Now, I need not be too disappointed about not finding any fabric at the EFF Sourcing Expo, because a new website solves all of those problems! The Offset Warehouse is an online space which brings together all of the elements to make ethical textile design easy.It is the first online business of its kind, focusing on ethical fabrics and haberdashery for the interiors and clothing market.Tracking down ethical materials is time consuming and confusing for many designers.Offset Warehouse eliminates the hassle by providing a one-stop shop for ethical fabrics and haberdashery, as well as an essential resource for designers, students and hobbyists. Plus I'm featured on the database as a researcher/writer! I will definitely be getting my fabrics from here in the future.
On Wednesday I went to the Ethical Fashion Forum - Ethical Sourcing Expo at Central Hall Westminster. I was helping out as a note taker for some of the seminars and got to have a good look around too. It had expanded greatly from last year's event, there were plenty of ethical fashion brands, accessories, materials and organisations exhibiting. I was hoping to source some ethical fabrics to make my own range, but was a little disappointed. There was not as much choice as I hoped, and the fabric available was generally wool or boring cottons, whereas I want pretty silks and bright colours to make underwear. Nevertheless, I came across a fair few new brands that I would like to shop with in the future and the seminars were helpful.
Monsoon sponsor Estethica, and have done so for years. They will soon be bringing out an ethical range of ethereal garments (lots of dresses) made from left over fabric from their main collections, and organic fabrics, as well as recycled glass beads. The completely white Love Monsoon Range 2011 will be in shops from feb next year and priced roughly around £120. Truely beautiful . .
As well as Estethica, I also went to the EcoLuxe exhibit at the Aldwych Hotel, which showcased ethical labels away from the LFW exhibition.One new brand that I completely fell in love with is Olga Olsson, gorgeous ethical swimwear.The brand definitely fills a gap for ethical sexy swimwear, produced by women and young artisans in Rio de Janeiro.
Outsider was a womenswear brand I hadn’t seen before.Perfect for an ethical work wardrobe they showcased organic blouses, shift dresses, jackets and skirts.They also use natural colour cotton in the collection (cotton originally was not white, but grown in shades of brown, green and rust red. “We believe ethical fashion should just look like fashion”.
I was very excited about my first time at London Fashion Week.All I wanted to do was see how it all worked and soak up the atmosphere, anything else was a bonus.I went up for two days, and boy was it fun, but tiring.I didn’t last very long in heels, luckily I took flats.I hadn’t realised everything that goes on away from Somerset House – invites to shows and exhibitions in various areas of London.How anyone can run around all day in heels puzzles me.Anyway, I only went to one show – Mulberry salon show.It was so lush!It was Claridges Hotel and they gave out cupcakes.It was packed but the only person I recognised was Olivia Palermo.All the models had beautiful red hair (wigs, but looked really sweet) and a dog walked down with one of the models.I guess the whole show had a ‘walk in the park’ feel, with floral centrepieces, and a bird song sound track pre-show.The clothes included the classic trench, coral shift dresses, a bit of floral and a ruffle skirt.I took photos off my two days but I can’t get them off the camera at the moment, which is very frustrating – I should be able to add them at some point.
Fair trade: The more I think about it the more confusing it gets.I learnt a lot more about it at the social labelling conference from people who work for the key fair trade organisations.First there’s the fact that fair trade, and Fairtrade are not the same.This I did know before – fair trade is a generic term which anyone can use, whereas Fairtrade is a certifying organisation – proof that it is fair trade. What I hadn’t quite grasped before, I’m ashamed to say, was the limits of Fairtrade within apparel.Basically that when a t-shirt says ‘Fairtrade certified cotton’ it is literally just the cotton growing stage that is certified Fairtrade, not in fact the cotton processing stage or t-shirt manufacture stage.Makes sense now, but it’s so easy to just assume.It just seems strange that this is the case, and worth shouting about, when much of the labour intensive part is perhaps the sewing of the garment.I suppose it links on from the fact that the Fairtrade foundation’s most successful area is food, which comes straight from the farmer to us almost.Indeed they only developed the Fairtrade cotton standard in 2004 so perhaps the standard will develop and grow in due course, but if I hadn't grasped that fact in full, no wonder other consumers are confused.
Last week I went to an ethical fashion conference held at Northumbria University. It was focused on social labelling which is very relevent to my MPhil thesis question, 'How to communicate the environmental and social impacts of producing a cotton t-shirt to the consumer at point of sale'. There were representatives there from FAIRTRADE, People Tree, Workers Rights Consortium and many more, but what was really interesting was to find PhD students studying such similiar topics to me! It becomes easy to think that I'm the only one doing research in my field, but that is of course not true, especially as it is such a current issue. Having said that, we were all approaching it in different ways.
I picked up on a lot of new information and will have to spend time going back through my literature review to add these details. What really struck me is the amount of work going on to help the conditions for workers globally, and the number of barriers that they face. I also realised that if I want to start my own label in the future, there is a lot of support out there to help me find an ethical way of manufacturing products. I'll update the blog as I go through my notes and the conference papers.
People Tree have started getting new season stock in, and its lovely. People Tree have done well since introducing their 'Youth' line, I think they really needed that. The collection Emma Watson designed for the summer was lush - cute tees, daisy dresses and the cricket jumper - very Jack Wills. Emma is unveiling a S/S 11 range in September at the 'Garden Party to Make a Difference' organised by none other than Prince Charles (by video connection as shes busy studying in the US).
Anyway, I really love this red check pinafore dress! And this tee, and all the snuggly knitwear (need it now the summer's over). They have also been running a Vintage and Fairtrade Fortnight challenge which involves wearing either vintage or Fairtrade outfits for two weeks. Diary pictures of Safia Minney taking on the challenge are on the People Tree online magazine and you can send in your own pictures.
I went to Liberty of London last week for the first time. How had I not been there before? Why didn't anyone tell me how beautiful it is? There are a number of iconic department stores in London; Selfridges, Browns and of course Harrods, but Liberty is like no other. It feels like you are walking around a country home, away from the bustle of Oxford Circus. A relaxed, unpretentious atmosphere means that you are free to browse at your leisure, without feeling in the way of sales assistants.There is a beautiful scarf room full of sumptuous silk and Liberty’s famous dreamy patterns, and a vintage area well stocked with designer delights from times gone by.
I bought some jeans in the sale, grey skinnys by C.r.a.f.t. a fab bargain!The sales assistant was helpful without being pushy, and even telephoned his colleague to let me know what C.r.a.f.t. stands for (I’ll let you find that out for yourselves).Overall a great visit, although I think the bag and shoes sections could do with more choice.Personally I can’t wait for Selfridges huge new shoe gallery . . . could be dangerous.From mid September Manolo Blahnik will have a ‘pop-up’ store inside Liberty stocking exclusive shoes using Liberty prints from the swinging sixties.There will also be cushions, candles and printed fabric in the collection, plus Manolo himself will be curating Liberty’s Christmas windows.An excuse for another visit I think!
I’ve known about sportswear brand Sweaty Betty for a long time, but I had never bought anything from the brand until now. It was when I was doing some research on retail entrepreneurs that I came across Tamara Hill-Norton, the founder of Sweaty Betty and this led me to the website. Sweaty Betty sells comfortable, stylish clothing under the headings, ‘sweat’, ‘yoga’, ‘beach’ and ‘snow’ and works with the purpose to ‘inspire women to find empowerment through fitness’. It is refreshing to find performance active wear without the big labels and logos. Indeed it was the story behind Tamara Hill-Norton and Sweaty Betty which really enamoured me to the brand, a brand started in the UK by a woman who knows what women want. Hill-Norton opened the first Sweaty Betty shop in 1998 in West London on a small budget, and by 2008 they had 24 shops. The business is still run by Hill-Norton and her husband. On my visit to the site I bought this ski jacket and the customer service was great. I’m going snowboarding for the first time next year and thought buying a jacket in the sale would be a good plan. Sure I may hate the snow and never go again, but if we have a winter like last year I’ll be very glad of my purchase! It’s an investment. I’m also a regular (reasonably) at the gym and will be snapping up the cute gym outfits as soon as I save some more cash. I’d like to say it doesn’t matter what you look like at the gym, but if you look good and feel comfortable, it’s sure to affect your performance, right?
There was a whole new show at last months Amsterdam Fashion Week, The Red Rail.A unique collection of 20 outfits from 18 up and coming fashion designers sashayed down the catwalk: softly draped pink pastel tops, high waisted trousers, ruffles and statement silhouettes for women, and graphic tees and pale, tailored trousers for men.What made these garments different to anything else at Amsterdam Fashion Week is that you won’t find them in the shops for sale.If you want any of these items, you have to give blood.
No it’s not a humane way of feeding the vampires, but a new initiative by Stichting Nobel, bringing together a collective of Dutch designers willing to design and donate clothing for the cause.The aim is to promote the act of blood donation to the health services, encouraging a new, young generation to give their blood to those in need.Most people would agree that donating blood is a good thing to do, but how many people actually get around to it?Giving blood is giving life, and an idea such as this could prove to be a huge boost to reach the young generation.
So how does it work?The clothes were shown at Amsterdam Fashion Week on 16th July and have since appeared on the website.Anyone wishing to take part has six months to donate their blood, and once done, they can email the organisers stating the item they have their eye on, contact details, and the all important donor number.Due to the limited number of items available, a lottery system will be adopted to award the clothes to happy donors early next year.In January 2011, all 20 outfits will be displayed in the Young designers United Store for two weeks to be viewed.
The clothes were designed by emerging new talent in the fashion industry, with Ellen Benders, Ivona Batuta and Studio JUX topping the list.They worked under the gaze and guidance of Dutch designer Claes Iversen and Angelika Groenendijk Wasylewski from Young Designers United.
The Red Rail is an innovative idea and sure to be a success.Not only has it, already, raised awareness for blood donation, but it also celebrates new design talent.Save a life and get a new dress in exchange for giving blood? Sounds like a good deal to me.
The research I have been working on for the last year is aiming to identify how fashion companies are currently trying to communicate ethical/sustainable attributes to the customer at point of sale.It came from the idea that when we buy a bag of crisps, for example, we are given detailed knowledge of the ingredients, nutritional information, and even perhaps the type of potato used so we can make an informed choice whether to buy it.When buying a t-shirt however, we’ll get the fibre content communicated to us, and maybe the country of origin (this, by the way, is almost meaningless, does it mean where the cotton came from? Where the t-shirt was manufactured?Or perhaps where the label was sewn in?) but precious little else.We, at the University, wanted to find a way of letting the customer see exactly where their garment had come from, what chemicals and processes were used, and its carbon footprint, all before making the decision whether to buy.
A study by Defra found that people acquire the information that influences their clothing decisions during the activity of shopping itself, as well as from conventional media.I think this is unexplored potential.The last year has involved studying the literature, approaching ethical fashion companies, and considering different research methods.For my MPhil work I have focused the work on two case study companies, and a consumer survey.The biggest issue for me, before developing any kind of point of sale communication, was finding out what the average consumer actually knows about the fashion supply chain.This brings me to the point I’m at now; developing a survey study.Surveys seemed so simple at school, but when faced with the need to produce a rigorous methodology and research design, I have realised the problems that could occur if the design isn’t just right.Preparation is everything!I’ll update my progress as it happens.
The international bestseller, ‘No Logo’ exposed the bitter truth behind global brands. A decade on, how has the fashion industry changed?
Uncovering the truth behind the brands, No Logo has become a cultural manifesto of the anti-globalisation movement since its publication in 1999. But has anti-capitalism thrived in the last decade? Or have consumers just got sucked in deeper?
If you haven’t read No Logo it’s well worth a look. It was published at a time when brands were booming, and an anti-consumerist movement was gearing up to fight back. It highlighted the issues behind the shiny exterior of well known global brands, particularly the people involved in sweatshop labour.
Writing this article was really interesting because it made me go back to the book and consider what had actually changed. I think branding is still hugely important and prevalent, but with the huge surge in value retailers like Primark, is it all that important to the consumer anymore? We’ve moved more into a society where people boast about their latest Primarni bargain, and sometimes names and logos are a bit naff.
Then there’s the issue with sweatshops. With huge companies manufacturing in hundreds of factories worldwide and holding the power to move to a different factory at the drop of a hat, it’s no surprise that the sweatshop culture grew. The question is, how much did the Western retailers really know? Or did they turn a blind eye? The media coverage of such practices in the last ten years has really put pressure on brands to buck their ideas up and many now have special teams responsible for ethics and corporate social responsibility. As I say at the end of the article, brands have a huge power over us as consumers; they should use that power for good, and communicate something worth knowing, like where our clothes really come from.
Do you know WhoMadeYourPants? Probably not!It was this thought that led Becky John to form the Southampton based co-operative WhoMadeYourPants? when she failed to track down pretty, ethical knickers for herself.Becky has been involved with human rights campaigning for many years as a member of Amnesty International, and she wanted to do something positive for others.WhoMadeYourPants? employs local Southampton women, marginalised through no fault of their own.About 80% of them are refugees who held good jobs in their home country, but have struggled to find work and settle into life in the UK, mainly due to a lack of English skills.WhoMadeYourPants? gives them a supportive, women-only environment to learn English, gain qualifications in sewing, hold down a part time job, and most importantly gain confidence.
So that’s the background info out of the way!I was prompted to blog about WhoMadeYourPants? because an article has just appeared in the Guardian.Press coverage has been steady, when the Observer mentioned them a few months ago they soon sold out of stock!I’ve been working with WhoMadeYourPants? as a press volunteer since October 09 and have met many of the workers.It’s really great to hear them speak about the opportunity they have been given, as many of the women barely left the house before.Becky hopes to expand the model across the country, and branch out to WhoMadeYourBra? but this will of course take time.I think the model is fantastic though, to use materials left over from the lingerie industry and manufacture something beautiful using local labour, here in the UK.Criticisms have focused on the cost of the knickers, £10 a pair, which compared to some High Street prices, yes may seem step.But compared to a lot of quality and designer lingerie it’s cheap!I hope this co-op gets the support it deserves, go on, get your guilt free undies!
I happen to know that a new range will be coming out soon, to replace the ‘Jasmine’ collection.
Arcadia have overhauled all of their brand websites, that's Topshop, Topman, Miss Selfridge, Dorothy Perkins, Evans, Burton and Wallis! Arcadia have aimed to create 'fashion destinations' with these newly updated sites with improved navigation, extra features and added shine. Alongside the online shop sits increased editorial and social media sections with style advice, blogs and video.
Check out Topshop for a first look at A/W and sneak a peak at the stunning dresses in Kate Moss's latest limited edition collection, her 12th for Topshop. Miss Selfridge have a fab video showcasing their A/W range too, with comments from creative director, Yasmin Yusuf. These extra features are certainly needed to keep up with the likes of ASOS who have the winning formula of mixing the magazine and ecommerce styles into one interactive site.
So we all know what will be THE dress of next season now.When I found out that Vogue and Elle had both put the same dress on their front cover for August, I ran straight down to Smiths to check for myself.American magazine W, also chose the same Miu Miu dress from the fashion house’s A/W 10 collection.This is pretty much unheard of, and has caused quite a media frenzy.The thing is, the dresses aren’t exactly the same, Vogue chose the orange version, Elle plumped for the lilac lace style, and well, the dress is insignificant for W’s cover as it fights for attention against Eva Mendes’ cleavage.I find it hard to believe that Miu Miu’s press team were oblivious to the clash, they should know where their samples are at all times.Although it was said that Elle had planned to use the cover for the September issue but moved it forward (better than scurrying behind in Vogue’s footsteps).
Although the magazine editors were obviously quite annoyed, like when you turn up to a party and someone is wearing the same dress as you, I don’t think it’s a bad thing at all.It shows that trends do actually mean something, that the magazines which influence our shopping choices are on the same wave length as each other, it sets the mood for the season.And WH Smiths did ok out of it too, I spent over £12 on magazines that day.
Carbon footprinting is hot news right now. As the threat of global warming looms, everyone is becoming more aware of their carbon footprint and any company that is trying to reduce its footprint gets brownie points. Continental Clothing were the first company to carbon footprint a t-shirt for their Earth Positive range, and because they have a vertical supply chain, use organic cotton and renewable wind powered energy, their t-shirts have a footprint of around 90% less than standard t-shirts.
Calculating a carbon footprint isn't as difficult as you might think, and for the fashion industry at least it will soon be easier. This is because with two other academics at University we have won research funding to dig out the details from this case! We are going to use Continental's data to analyse the biggest contributors to carbon emissions in cotton production and publish the results. First team meeting is schedules for September so expect an update then!
