Sustainable Fashion Lecture - WEEK 11 & 12

WEEK 11 - 07/10/19

 SUSTAINABLE FASHION


WEEK 12 - 17/10/19

 SUSTAINABILITY, ETHICS AND CIRCULAR ECONOMY 

 SUSTAINABILITY IN FASHION:

 make-use-dispose attitude clothes are unsustainable.
textile production contributes more to climate change than international aviation and shipping combined. 
synthetic fibres and plastic waste are being found in the deep sea, in Arctic sea ice, in fish and shellfish. 

 FAST-FASHION:

  • seen as 'wear once' business model 
  • The UK buy more clothes per person, than any other country in Europe.
  • 17% of people won't wear a garment again if it's been seen on Instagram 'social pressure'.
  • apps and online shopping allows for 

BRANDS AND SUSTAINABILITY:
  • Burberry burnt £90m of stock in 2018
  • Louis Vuitton offers 'fast luxury' - new collection every 22 weeks - often produced in the same factories producing 'fast fashion'
  • Fast-fashion brands can turn around new items from production to consumer in 3 weeks. 
  • Influencers promote a throwaway society, with disregard dor emotional attachment removing the desire for a circular model within fashion. 
"The plan is simple, we must now look at design as a solution-based, problem-solving strategy". -Phoebe English, 2019.

POSITIVE CHANGES:
  • Zara vowed to only use recyclable fabrics by 2025
  • some brands like TKMaxx, H&M are introducing the idea of trading old garments for discounted purchases. 
  • London Fashion week went 'Fur Free' as of February 2019.
Mother of Pearl x BBC Earth x BFC,, held a roundtable at Seven Dials, London, in 2019, whilst launching a collaborative film
  • Vivienne Westwood and BFC began a campaign called 'Switch to Green', which encourages industry partners and suppliers, to switch to green energy sources by 2020.
  • talks and protests from Vivienne Westwood's 'Climate Revolution' collection.
  • H&M has a 'Conscious' range, using recycled fabrics/papers/inks.
  • Burberry, Gap, H&M, Kering, Levi's and Inditex, pledged to achieve a 30% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030.
NIKE launched the 'Nike Circular Design Platform', as an educational space for businesses and consumers on 'circularity'.


CIRCULAR ECONOMY:

"we need a circular economy for fashion in which clothes are kept at their highest value and designed from the outset to never end up as waste". -Ellen MacArthur, 2019
-repurposing old outdated things to create something new and initiative.

BRAND EXAMPLES: 
  • Zara using only recyclable Fabrics by 2025
  • Rent the runway have a ' Rental Services' in the US
CONSUMER EXAMPLES:
  • Shopping at/donating to 'Vintage'/'Charity' shops
  • Use resale applications i.e eBay and DEPOP.

ETHICAL ISSUES:

most of the garments sold in the UK are produced in Asian Countries, where the conditions are low and non-ethical in terms of working conditions and environments. Over 90% of workers in the garment industry cannot negotiate their wages/conditions.

CASE STUDY: Rana Planza garment factory collapse, 2013. 

GARMENT TRADE, IN LEICESTER: 
  • Leicester has the seconds highest concentration of textile manufactures in the UK, with 700 factories employing 10,000 workers. 
  • workers produce around 1 million items of clothing per week for online retailers.
  • Majority of workers are paid below the National Minimum Wage - don't have contracts and are subject to intense work practices.
  • Leicester has been identified as a hotspot for human trafficking and sexual abuse in the garment industry. 
BOOHOO SCANDAL
  • playoff supplies against each other, pay garment workers below the National Minimum Wage.
  • Boohoo refuse to join the Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI) as they refuse to publish their whole supply chain, which is required when joining.
  • Boohoo does not have a trade union.

ETHICAL TRADING INITIATIVE (ETI)
An alliance of companies, trade unions and non-governmental organisations, that promotes respect and rights for worker's rights around the globe.

ETI standardises trade union rights, health, safety and environmental practices, across global operations.

PRIMARK

UNITED NATIONS '17 Sustainable Development Goals' 
gives a bigger picture of the issues that surround sustainability 

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