IBSN Number and All: Forever in Text

2014 has started well for me, Shed me Clothes and I have been featured in a publication: Alison Gwilt's 'A Practical Guide To Sustainable Fashion' Ta daaaaaaaaaaa..






I’ve been rather quiet on the Sustainable Fashion front of recent months, however I plan to get my teeth back into it this year. Watch this space.

Fix It

With much excitement, I have just discovered the Textile Toolbox. 
 

Textile Toolbox is the TED’s web platform project with MISTRA, that in their words is aimed at creating systemic change within the fashion industry through ‘interconnected design thinking and processes for sustainable textiles and fashion’. 

Stuffed with articles from the industry’s greatest thinkers across a variety of disciplines, this website is a goldmine for discovering new ideas. The articles and posts will form a basis of a report due to be published this year (so watch this space).

Below is a list of the disciplines covered on the website: 

• Design to Minimise Waste 
• Design for Cyclability 
• Design to Reduce Chemical Impacts 
• Design to Reduce Energy & Water Use 
• Design that Explores Clean/Better Technologies 
• Design that Looks at Models from History & Nature 
• Design for Ethical Production 
• Design to Reduce the Need to Consume 
• Design to Dematerialise & Develop Systems & Services 
• Design Activism

Swing on by, have a read and feel inspired.


Image source:Textile Toolbox

Kate Fletcher Book Launch and Copenhagen Fashion Summit News

Last night I attended the launch of Kate Fletcher (& Lynda Grose)’s new book, Fashion and Sustainability: Design for Change. The event was held in The Carnaby Book Exchange in Kingly Court and included free refreshments, which were much needed as temperatures soared.

Firstly, the location was brilliant. I entered a little bemused, unaware what Carnaby Book Exchange was, but delighted with it’s ceiling high shelves of books and book wallpaper. In fact Carnaby Book Exchange is just what it says it is: a book exchange. LCF students have organised the project so that people can swap books for free, while leaving recommendations for others at the same time. If only I knew before hand, there were some pretty good titles available ranging from classic literature to obscure fashion and photography publications.

 

Location aside, Fletcher and Lucy Orta (also launching her book Clouds/Nuages) took to being interviewed by Patrick Laine (WWF) after an event introduction from Dilys Williams (Centre for Sustainable Fashion). The interviews offered an insight into the two books. I particularly liked the sound of the new models for sustainable fashion on offer in Fletcher’s book along with the idea of offering the word ‘citizens’ instead of ‘consumers’ to emphasise the opportunity/need for people to take responsibility of their purchasing power.

At half price the RRP I snapped up a copy of Fletcher’s book, while my friend opted for Orta’s (artistic approach to recycling plastic bottles). 

 

 

During the evening I caught up with Dilys, who told me I was name-checked for Shed me Clothes by WGSN during Copenhagen Fashion Week last week. I wanted to find out more, however she was whisked away to speak to someone else.

Later that evening I searched the internet for some further info and came across the following LCF blog entry: LCF takes part in Copenhagen Fashion Summit. Take a look, I was ‘singled out’.

New book and name check. I had a very pleasant evening.

Copenhagen Fashion Summit 2012

I was recently emailed asking for my views on the Copenhagen Fashion Summit. At first I was excited: ‘Someone wants to know what I think and publish it’. I read further into the email and I realised it must have been for someone else (boo) as the email went on to ask for my opinions due to my attendance. Not for me then; I politely replied and told the sender I believed that they had contacted the wrong person as I did not attend. Should I have done this or should I have blagged my way through to get my name in an article? Who knows?

Not all bad, the email actually highlighted the conference to me so I researched further. I discovered the conference was organised by NICE (Nordic Initiative Clean and Ethical) whom I had previously come across during my studies.

In attendance were 1,043 key industry stakeholders of the fashion industry (yes, unfortunately I was not one of them) from 27 different countries with the focus on discussing ways on how to involve and engage consumers in sustainable consumption.  The summit unveiled 16 principles for establishing an ‘industry-wide common ground for ethical and fair business’:

Human Rights

1. Businesses must support and respect the protection of internationally proclaimed human rights.

2. Businesses must make sure that they are not complicit in human-rights abuses.

Labour

3. Businesses must uphold the freedom of association and the effective recognition of the right to collective bargaining.

4. Businesses must eliminate all forms of forced and compulsory labour.

Child Labour

5. Businesses will not accept child labour and do their utmost to determine the correct age of the workers employed by them and their subcontractors.

6. Businesses must eliminate discrimination in respect of employment and occupation.

Environment

7. Businesses must support a precautionary approach to environmental challenges.

8. Business must undertake initiatives to promote greater environmental responsibility.

9. Businesses must encourage the development and diffusion of environmentally friendly technologies.

Anti Corruption

10. Businesses must work against corruption in all its forms, including extortion and bribery.

Animals

11. In businesses where animals are used for labour and/or production, such animals must be treated with dignity and respect. No animal must be deliberately harmed or exposed to pain.

Designers

12. Businesses and their designers must work actively to encourage and support sustainable design and design processes.

Models

13. Businesses must through their choice and treatment of models promote a healthy lifestyle and healthy body ideals, and the models’ minimum age must be 16 during fashion weeks and other occasions where the workload is excessive.

Transparency

14. Businesses must work towards transparency in their supply chains.

Jewellery               

15. Businesses must work towards a stronger commitment between retailers, suppliers, and subcontractors to reinforce the development of a secure mining industry.

Monitoring and Evaluation

16. All businesses involved must at all times be open and accessible for announced, semi-announced, and unannounced audits for monitoring and evaluation of compliance with the code of conduct.

Please follow link to view the NICE Code of Conduct Manual in more detail. This is a 112 page pdf, not easy reading. I plan to start reading (or at least browsing) now, it may take a while.

If someone thought I went this year, I can only hope I’ll get an invite next year. It may just happen, you never know.

Image sources: Ecosalon

‘Conscious’ Up Close

I’m over half way through the H&M Sustainability Report (yes a little slow, life is getting in the way perhaps) and on Tuesday evening found myself early meeting a friend in Oxford Circus. Like every girl with spare time on her hands I went shopping. However, unlike every other girl I tend to go ‘comp’ shopping to scrutinise what retailers are selling. Yes I am that cynical; I secretly tell myself ‘well informed’.

Of course I opted for H&M as I wanted to see as much of the Conscious Collection as possible: touch it, fibre comp it, try it, buy it (don’t be ridiculous! Although, I did rather like two pieces).

The window was inviting enough (but, I think I could only find about 3 of the garments displayed here in store):

I was expecting to be greeted as soon as I entered the store by the sustainable collection that H&M are so proud of, instead I found myself in the basement where the only way to distinguish the garments were by their green swing tickets. The garments were dispersed with the usual (is it wrong to say ‘unsustainable’?) collection, or at least the garments that you could/should style with the Conscious Collection.

There appeared to be only a limited number of styles available as to what is visible online, for example I saw none of the stunning evening dresses. Perhaps I had missed the boat and they had already been snapped up, but I expected more from H&M’s flagship store (is it their UK flagship? I assume it is as to the location).

Image source: H&M

I pulled 5 garments to try; all bar one used lace (I’m not sure if this says something about me, H&M or current trends). Lace I would consider to be a difficult fabric to consider sustainable as more often that not usually blends a natural fibre with a synthetic (difficult to recycle) and is energy intensive to produce.

Organic Cotton Lace Dress

Total winner in my eyes for style and cotton content (if I remember correctly the dress was lined in cotton too). Fit was a little off mind: armhole seemed a tad too small, perfect if you don’t want to move your arms much further than your bust point. However on a fit point of view, I could fit my size 12 rear into this size 10 dress! This is a brilliant dress if you feel comfortable and can move easily in, however beware: the back fastening requires someone else to secure you. I have no idea how inner buttons on one side and a side zip on the other is achievable by the wearer. I almost pulled a muscle before admitting defeat.

Organic Cotton/Polyester Lace Vest

This looked awful on me, hense I have not uploaded a photo wearing it. I truly hated the colour and the garish gold zip at the back. I personally didn’t like the feel of either the Organic Cotton/Polyester lace outer or the Recycled Polyester lining. My biggest issue with this vest is the pointless zip at the back neck, not only is the colour awful but its function is defunct: you can easily put this vest on without undoing the zip. This, I consider the most unsustainable design feature: a fastening that is not necessary for fastening the garment. Just think of the number of zips that were produced to fulfil this order (raw materials/energy), sewing them in (man hours/energy) and how many consumers will actually use it (nil).

Recycled Polyester Shirt

What a cool shirt. I did like this garment. The print is gorgeous, if not a little creepy and the fit was easy (cuffs a little tight mind). I do worry about the increase in body temperature from wearing a 100% polyester shirt but it would be easy to care for (low temp machine washable – less energy consumed during use phase). I did notice the H&M quality I am used to however on this shirt: wonky stitching and loose thread ends: but sheer fabric is always the hardest to sew together. Info on the printing method would have been inviting on the swing ticket, but that may just be me geeking out.

Recycled Polyester Dress

‘Meh’. I found this dress a little dull to be honest and felt the recycled polyester rather clingy. Beware lumps and bumps this dress is not going to show you in your best light. This I imagine is due to the garment not being lined (the buyers did well at snipping that out). There was some care label to swing ticket discrepancies: swing ticket states 82% recycled poly whereas care label states 100% recycled poly. That’s one way to confuse the consumer. The swing ticket failed to mention the lace inserts in the dress, therefore we are none the wiser is the cotton is organic in the lace.

That ORANGE Lace Jacket

I truly hated this garment on the hanger, but took it to the changing room for a laugh. Once on it went up in my expectations, but then I looked at the back and it went back down. It felt strangely like Michael Jackson ‘Thiller’ to me, but in orange. I cannot recall the fibre comp on this jacket; I would like to think the lace was organic cotton and assume the lining is recycled poly and the satin outer may also be recycled poly (please don’t hold me to this). The pointless design feature I noticed on this jacket was the functioning jetted front pockets. Don’t get me wrong I love pockets, but as a rule I like pockets I can actually put my hands or something useful in like my phone or oyster card. The depth of the pocket reached the first joint on my index finger (I later measured to be around 2.5cm). I guess the pockets are meant to hold your lipstick or spare change, but isn’t that what handbags and purses are for? I feel this pockets could be non-functional and some pocket bag fabric saved.

 

Another point I would like to make is I found the pricing structure confusing. I understand that due to large quantities H&M can get a better margin and offer a lower price than the standard organic/sustainable retailers, but retailing an organic lace dress, lined in cotton at the same price as a recycled polyester unlined dress at £24.99 baffles me. Seriously, how do they do that?

I was disappointed not to find any recycled wool, organic hemp, Tencel® lyocell on this visit. I shall have to make further plans to meet friends around said location and take another look see at another date.

Anyone Fancy a Vintage Shopping Challenge?

The Centre for Sustainable Fashion (CSF) have partnered with both M&S and Oxfam to launch London’s first Sustainable Fashion Lab. Set in the backdrop of the ultra cool and creative Truman Brewery in London’s East End (just off Brick Lane) the Lab will launch tomorrow and run for 2 weeks:

26 April – 9 May 2012

10am-5pm every day (except Mondays)

Open to the public, for entry bring along one item of unwanted clothing.

Image source: CSF, Michelle Lowe-Holder and Noel Stewart

Today CSF have set their first challenge: M&S Heirloom Challenge this Friday at Dray Walk 3pm. The challenge is simple, you get given £25 to hunt out a beautiful, vintage M&S garment over the weekend. Less of a challenge, more of a treat in my eyes (I’ve managed to collect quite a few St. Michael garments through scouring the charity shop rails).  You will, of course, be expected to hand over your find to the Lab to be placed into an exhibition (along with your name). Your chosen garment may also be selected for inclusion in the M&S archive.

Image source: Mike McSharry

I wonder what the purpose in creating the M&S archive is: potential design inspiration? Quality and performance research? Consumer care habits?

Sound like the perfect challenge for you? Well, the only hitch is that you need to be available on Friday 26^th and Monday 29^th (unfortunate if you are full-timers, like myself). If you’ve the time to spare, be quick there are limited spaces: click the above M&S Heirloom Challenge link to find out how to enter.

Happy shopping (never thought I would ever say that!)

Shed me Clothes on Ecouterre

Ecouterre featured an article on my project Shed me Clothes in January which surmounted in various other blogs and websites featuring the project. I was even interviewed for the University of Arts student magazine. Below is a snapshot and link to that Ecouterre article.

Today, an extract from Kate Fletcher and Lynda Grose new book Fashion & Sustainability: Design for Change on Biomimicry was featured on Ecouterre. This article featured my Pecha Kucha video on the 2nd page:

I've checked the video on Youtube, it's now received over 1000 views. Let's just say I'm a happy bunny and a tad excited.

H&M Sustainability Report

I’ve been waiting patiently since reading Lucy Siegle’s article in Sunday’s Observer for today. At last it is here: H&M have launched their 'Conscious' collection today, along with their Sustainability Report. I must admit I feel much the same as Siegle (‘Full marks for ambition. But do I buy H&M as an ethical paragon? Not quite yet.) upon reading the article so am happy to investigate.

The website welcomes you with beautiful garments and models (if not a little proud with hand on hip and head held high) shot in a make shift jungle; I'm sure to emphasise the new collection’s natural and sustainable credentials. From what I can see the prints on the garments are of plant-life, again I assume to further emphasise this point.



The website identifies the use of the following fabrics: organic cotton, recycled polyester, recycled polyamide, recycled plastic, organic linen, recycled cotton, recycled wool, Tencel® lyocell and organic hemp. All fabrics are described, followed by a list of benefits of use (except hemp, which is a surprise: it’s the fastest growing and most sustainable of them all) as well as links to GOTS and Global Recycling Standards. It’s a shame that H&M have forgotten about the possible energy saving benefits during the use/laundering phase here. Benefits highlighted tend to lean towards production only.



However, the Sustainability Report highlights the use phase, of which they do indicate the high energy consumption during laundering, within it’s map of a product’s lifecycle (pages 6-7). They have reluctantly left out the ‘Disposal’ stage disguising this within the use phase:

We are working to influence how our customers care for their H&M purchases and to promote the recycling of used garments (page 7)







The report is rather long (and so it should be, there’s a lot to cover: hitting 87 pages), so I have only briefly scanned it so far. The bulk of the report briefly highlights H&M’s ‘Conscious Actions’, which are many (and so there should….). They are clearly taking this move towards sustainable and ethical fashion much more seriously that what I originally expected. Below I have listed Actions that particularly caught my eye:

Use only sustainable cotton
Develop sustainability index labels for products
European standard for environmental product labelling
Introduce climate smart washing and care instructions (If anyone knows me, this really excites me – however I was disappointed that they only recommend reducing to 40 degrees.)
Sustainability training for designers and buyers
Supplier sustainability performance index
Integrate sustainability criteria into our order systems
Promote energy efficiency in our supply chain
Help to lead industry to zero discharge of hazardous chemicals
Ban fluorocarbons / Toluene

There is a wealth of information in the report as well as the website, there’s even a page on quality tests (nice to see us tech’s aren’t going unnoticed). However, I do feel this quality page to be a slight oxymoron, does anyone else consider H&M quality to be very poor?

I must say my viewpoint has changed towards H&M becoming the new home of ethical fashion, well at least slightly. They do appear to have covered a large perspective of the supply chain, but are they trying to take on too much at once? Their actions are briefly covered in simple paragraphs. The proof is in the pudding, or organic cotton dress, perhaps the recycled poly dress, but more likely in customer reaction. Is she/he (yes there is menswear) buying it? Let’s wait and see their reaction.


Source (all images): H&M

The Superficial Face of Fashion

Source www.guardian.co.uk

An article by Lucy Siegle in today’s Observer Why fast fashion is slow death for the planet explores the problems of fast fashion: overflowing wardrobes, reduced league times, overworked and underpaid factory workers, stellar fiscal achievements and the fashion consumers lust for more fore less and disregard. I make a point of mentioning this article as there was a particular reference I had not come across before:

Perhaps that mindset explains why a fashion industry commentator watched in horror as she saw one satisfied customer emerge from Primark's flagship Oxford Circus store with six or seven brown paper bags full of clothes. It was raining heavily, and as the young woman proceeded down Oxford Street one of them broke around the handles and folded cotton flopped on to the pavement. Naturally the journalist expected the girl to bend down and collect the clothes, but no. She just walked on. Fashion was apparently so expendable it had turned into litter.


Source www.dedicatedfolloweroffashion.com

On my many trips via Oxford Circus to university or even through Coventry city town centre (my home town with the largest Primark store in the UK when it was built in around 2008) I see a countless number of women, both young and old, carrying at least two large brown paper bags. My reaction is always the same: being overcome with shivers. I feel the same when entering a Primark store, yet combined with a glazed sense of attending a farm or cattle market; clothes strewn across their displays taking the form of a laundry pile, miserable staff shuffling about not even attempting to clean up, escalators that herd you around the store in order to get up or down and customers trailblazing around grabbing, dropping and eventually chucking in those oversized baskets that resemble buckets. On top of this the queues are horrendous, almost robotic and airport like. I repeat the same question to myself when leaving; ‘Do people enjoy this?’ Perhaps this experience is ultimately part of the fashion procedure for many, likened to the frustrating process of separating egg whites in order to produce the ultimate meringue.


Source themorganmclearyblog.wordpress.com

After reading the above paragraph that shiver again possessed my body, however much deeper: I felt sad. A newly brought fashion piece means so little to its owner they are willing to dispose of it before even consuming it. It begs the question: ‘has fashion or clothing in general become superficial?’

Lets not kid ourselves, the fashion industry has always been a little shallow quick to snipe an others in out of date wears, but it always seem to connect to us emotionally. Perhaps with reference to the girl mentioned above we no longer desire or need this emotional connection.

Many sustainable fashion writers and designers discuss the need to maintain and encourage this emotional connection. But are we missing the point before us, perhaps people want fashion that they can consume without a care? Perhaps designers and writers should explore sustainable methods of creating clothing to allow for this change in the consumer.

What are you views? Are both areas of research viable?

New Materials for Fashion

I’ve been both a little slow in reading Shaping Sustainable Fashion as well as blogging recently. However, a forty-five minute bus journey recently gave me plenty of time to delve into the text. So far I have not come across anything overly new or innovative, mostly upcycling and fibres, which is another reason why I have not blogged.

A case study that did catch my attention was New Materials for Fashion (page 39), which discussed the potential to explore and develop new materials as possible sustainable solutions for fashion. I know exactly why I was drawn to this text; my MA Final Project was in many ways an exploration of this. Another reason would be that this research is ‘little explored in the fashion industry’. The unknown always fascinates me.

Jennifer Shellard is a textile designer who combines technology with traditional craft skills to create textiles with a colour strip that changes colour. The colour change is ‘slow and measured’ to create an ‘intriguing and meditative’ viewing experience. Her work fits into the new body of research exploring methods of engaging with consumers through transformation. Adaptive clothing has the potential to encourage a relationship or emotional response with the owner, thus reducing the need for the owner to further consume.



Shellard’s work is interesting and appears well thought out; however I feel that consumers need something more than colour change to feel connected to their clothing.

‘A central problem with fashion is that often a garment is disregarded before it ceases to function’. I totally agree. The text continues to promote the need for emotional attachment to sustain interest with the owner as being the ultimate challenge. True, but another method could be explored: to create garments that engage for a short period of time, for example the length of a trend and be safely disposed.

Fashion is and most certainly will always be fuelled by trends. We can either embrace this by searching for methods to sustain it, or turn anti-fashion and focus on maintenance and emotion. To be honest, I believe in both these methods: my own work explores the possibility of safe disposable garments that can be trend led yet there are items in my wardrobe that I have developed an emotional attachment to also. Perhaps the future will hold a happy medium for both. What do you think?

Pecha Kucha Presentation

The presentation on Monday night went really well, I didn’t stumble at all! I did however find the Q&A session after difficult due to the fact I’ve never done it before in front of a lecture hall full of people. One word: daunting, however experience can only make me better.

Unfortunately the presentations were not filmed (although audio may have been recorded), therefore I created a video with my audio commentary so that for the people who couldn’t make it can experience it! Enjoy.

BEWARE: this video contains images of snakes (shock). :)

MA Pecha Kucha TONIGHT!

Eek, the time has come: I will be presenting my project Shed me Clothes tonight at the MA Pecha Kucha session held at the RHS Space at London College of Fashion from 6pm. Another of my peers from MA Fashion and the Environment, Julia Roebuck will also be presenting along with students from MA History and Culture of Fashion, MA Fashion Journalism and MA Fashion Curation.

This type of presentation is timed, therefore no time to stumble. Wish me luck!

Shaping Sustainable Fashion

I (pre)ordered Shaping Sustainable Fashion: changing the way we make and use clothes edited by Alison Gwilt and Timo Rissanen what feels like an age ago (actually last November). Success, it finally arrived yesterday. All in good time too, I have just finished my second leisure book since Christmas: an autobiography by a much admired musician, the first being the history of the fabulous Rough Trade.

After reading about the somewhat ludicrous, rampant and well hidden (by which I mean unpublicised by the press unlike his equally talented counterpart – Can you guess whose autobiography it is yet?) exploits of this artist I feel I need to roll over and exert my attention to another passion of mine: improving methods within the clothing lifecycle towards a more sustainable future. A come down perhaps, yet an enjoyable one.

I feel I have drifted from the original point in this post….

Ok back on track.

I haven’t as of yet started the text, however have had a quick flick through and settled the majority of my attention on the use phase chapter. People who know will surely not be surprised; I seriously cannot wait to read this chapter especially with subtitles including:

Laundering Frequency: Reducing Consumer’s Need to Clean
Laundry Detergents and Softeners: Effectiveness and Environmental Concerns
Sustainable Clothing Care by Design

And some figures that caught my eye:

Other pages that caught my eye were ‘New Materials for Fashion’ along with a profile of the fabulous Wonderland project by (my supervisor) Helen Storey where garments can be dissolved, offering a solution to the problem of waste.

Excuse me while I settle down with a cuppa to take my first tentative step into the text, I will do my best not to skip to the use phase….but no promises. Everyone has to be a geek about something…right?

I keep you posted on my journey through Shaping Sustainable Fashion, what I learn so will you.