If you are walking down a street in a neighborhood in Brooklyn, New York and its trash day, or it’s any normal day, you’ll see piles of unwanted clothes for the taking – people put out their unwanted clothes for people to take. Taking she did. Sayoko Kojima literally rescued rubbish from her neighborhood, Park […]
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Question. I want to be in fashion. Can I get a broad sense of what career options there are? Answer. There are many paths to a career in fashion whether you work for a company or are independent. Broadly, there are 6 traditional commercially focused sectors of which are organizationally structured with numerous skilled jobs; […]
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How often, when you are shopping or have purchased clothing or shoes, do you come across a chemical smell? Who’s keeping score? Green America. Green America published The “Toxic Textiles” report that tells what companies are doing to address the use of toxic chemicals in their supply chains. The report found that top U.S. clothing […]
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If the average life of clothes could be extended by just nine months it could reduce carbon, water and waste footprints by 20-30%. –Leigh Mapledoram , Program Area Manager, Wrap UK
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Fashion is an expansive narrative of the abstract because when we really look at it and talk about it, good or bad, it taps all segments of society, the net is wide. Recently, we ‘looked and talked about’ the political statement Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s “Tax the Rich” dress made at The Met Gala. Technological advances […]
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Exactly a year ago, within the first few months of the pandemic, I wrote a profound and comprehensive piece on what effect the COVID-19 virus would have on the fashion industry, Correction, Contraction, and Cessation. COVID-19 Calls to Action a Sustainable Fashion System. Here is what I had to say at that time and it still […]
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Over 90% of the emissions for apparel come from four activities: dyeing and finishing, fabric preparation, yarn preparation, and fiber production. – Quantis At the rate we consume fashion, we buy clothes to throw away! Today’s fashion industry is plagued by over-consumption, all driven by speed and disposability – fast fashion. In the last two […]
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Ignorance is a handicap. There is a shift towards buying more sustainable fashion, but on a small scale. Those that are educated, arm themselves with information on the industry’s negative impact on the environment and are asking the right questions, demanding transparency from brands. But there needs to be a massive campaign strategy to the […]
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Are development and production samples considered waste? Product development and pre-production samples are of multiple sets: a set for the designers, a set for a subgroup of the design team – the specification package team, a set for media photo shoots, and a set for the sales team. What should happen is at least one […]
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With over 2.5 million United States women veterans strong, women have been fighting and sacrificing for their country much longer than you may think — even going as far as disguising themselves as a man in order to serve.
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Ukraine’s BE SUSTAINABLE! Fashion Summit is in its third year of presenting an international event aimed at increasing the level of expertise of Ukrainian professionals working in the field of design and production of clothing. The Summit took place during Ukrainian Fashion Week No Season 2021 [UFWNS]. Did you notice “no season”? One of the […]
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Against the backdrop of unprecedented store closures, bankruptcy, and excessive inventory throughout the supply chain, is fashion week necessary? Mckinsey & Company suggest the global industry’s economic profit will fall by 93 percent in 2020 after rising 4 percent in 2019. In a worst case scenario, the industry won’t get back to 2019 levels until […]
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We have to be unburdened by what has been to consider what can be. – Kamala Harris, Vice President of the United States
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In an age of socioeconomic inequalities, climate crisis, and a pandemic, characterized by accelerated technological advances and new working models, design plays a crucial role in supporting the ways we care for ourselves, each other and the planet. Managing resources equitably and sustainably is vital for ecological resilience. The Design Museum, United Kingdom, Designers in […]
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Despite the efforts of governments and other actors, anthropogenic GHG emissions continue to increase. Under current trajectories, global mean temperatures are projected to increase by 2.2°C to 4.4°C by the end of this century. – Fashion Industry Charter for Climate Action | Climate Action Playbook
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As part of the IFM – Première Vision Chair, Français de la Mode conducted a study that surveyed 5,000 consumers in France, Germany, Italy and the United States about their consumption habits of Eco-friendly fashion.
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Without a doubt, the ongoing global health crisis has shaken industries in more ways than one. From record low revenues and great losses to missed partnership opportunities and canceled events, the negative effects of the pandemic on businesses are endless. However, if there is one good thing that has sprung from the decade’s greatest economic […]
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Is the industry doing that? Lady Gaga has said ‘fashion doesn’t need to go together; it just needs to be upsetting’. She was referencing her dismissal of wearing designer clothing from head to toe. That’s just one aspect of the control culture or out-of-control culture that the fashion industry emits.
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What I hope to accomplish is basically a diversion of the practices we use to satisfy our materialistic needs. I personally believe that the urge for something new is something not worth trying to change, what I focus on changing is the reaction to that urge. – Ophir El-Boher
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What I find fascinating about the subject of sustainable fashion is that many in the industry don’t truly understand, or let’s say embrace, the benefit of a complete supply system that conserves and values our resources.
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This is a re-post from October 2014, Sustainable Fashion Never Goes Out of Style. This future scenario was published in February 2010 report, Fashion Futures 2025, by Levi Strauss & Co. We are 10 years into their 15 year forecast. Not too far from a future like this?
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The carnage of closures from the impact of COVID-19 throughout the supply chain is forcing the industry to pause and re-set. According to Mckinsey & Co., if stores remain closed for two months, 80 percent of publicly listed fashion companies in Europe and North America will be in financial distress. Revenues for the global fashion industry […]
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Did you know that futbol team, aka soccer, t-shirts are considered fast fashion and negatively impact the environment? Sustainable fashion designer Juan Pablo Martinez thinks so. He says, “the top 10 futbol teams alone, sell 17,500,000 100% polyester t-shirts every year”.
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Fashion is universally cited as being one of the most polluting industries in the world. Thank you to conscious consumers and to environmental activists such as Greta Thunberg for their demands on attacking the environmental crisis. Putting sustainability at the forefront of business models, strategic plans, supply chain infrastructure, etc., is long overdue.
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FashioNxt Week, Portland, Oregon’s version of Fashion Week with an emphasis on the Pacific Northwest, showcases designers from around the world.
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What is responsible fashion? When you. . .
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10,000 liters of water is required to grow one kilo of cotton needed to make just one pair of denim jeans. In comparison, one person would take 10 years to drink 10,000 liters of water. Cumulatively, the fashion industry produces about 20% of global waste water. Source: UN Helps Fashion Industry Shift to Low Carbon […]
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“Made in Forests” – a short story about sustainable fashion. Malaysian-born film star and UNDP Goodwill Ambassador Michelle Yeoh put the spotlight on the role that clothing manufacture and consumer fashion can have for a better planet with a new video, called “Made in Forests.”
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Four in five (79%) think clothing brands should provide information on their environmental commitments. Spanish and Italian consumers are more likely than average to think this.
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Can the biggest players in the fashion industry unite to stop global warming? The United Nations thinks so.
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I began seeing the clothes I had been accountable for making as post-consumer waste: in thrift stores, jammed into markdown racks, and on the streets as rags. From an organic farm to procurement of fashion artifacts to a zero waste product development operation, Karen Glass, founder of Ø [zerøwaste] GLASS, walks the talk of a circular fashion […]
Read moreWith 25.5 billion pounds of USE-ABLE textiles thrown away each year (70 pounds per American), there is a lot of waste that can be prevented.
Join the movement! With the focus on fashion consumerism and the circular economy, Fashion for Good museum is the first interactive museum dedicated for sustainable fashion. Amsterdam — Fashion for Good, the global initiative for sustainable fashion, has opened the doors of its museum in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, today. The space aims to show visitors […]
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It may have been a long time coming, but Eco-fashion is no longer a hippie pipe dream. Biker jackets made from pineapple leaves and leather tanned with olive extract rather than hugely polluting chemicals are now within reach, experts say. Read the article at Fashion United: The End of Plastic: Eco-fashion becomes catwalk reality
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Breaking the rules, disrupting the fashion system is easier than you think. Fashion designer, Peivand Mirzaie has made a mark on breaking the rules, disrupting the system, while embracing the power of fashion. She has gone beyond the ‘system’ in her designs, pushing concept over saleability; in her choice of education, wanting more freedom and […]
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A water-pollution-inspired collection gets the attention of a museum.
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The Fashion industry has contributed to the earth’s pollution, and my endeavor is to show the world that we can have high-fashion in co-existence with nature and other living beings. – Purvi Doshi
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Non-biodegradable clothes are manufactured synthetic textiles including polyester, spandex, nylon, and rayon[*]. It may take between 20 to 200 years to fully biodegrade these textiles.
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I saw Al Gore’s documentary and felt that what I was doing in fashion didn’t have real meaning or impact. Juan Pablo Martinez What is responsible fashion? When you watch Al Gore’s documentary on global warming, An Inconvenient Truth, and decide as a fashion designer to be environmentally responsible; When you learn that between 300-600 […]
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We want to bring back the essence from all over the world, with handmade, fine ARTISANal collections that are made by local artisans in their traditions. We will not disguise those communities; we give them access to the windows of the world while they give us their most precious gift: their talent. – Clémence Goudard, Good People […]
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Did you know that slavery generates $150 billion for traffickers each year? There are tens of millions of people in slavery today. Researches estimate 21 million are enslaved. 78% of slavery victims today are in labor slavery – Free The Slaves Do you know who made your clothes? Fair Trade Fashion Show shines the light […]
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Throw away fashion, this is NOT. On the opposite end of the [fast and cheap] spectrum of fashion is Standard Issue.
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Skip the landfill and discard your unwanted R.A.G.S. – Recycle Accessories Garments Shoes – responsibly. Americans discard more than 28 billion pounds of unwanted clothing, shoes, and other textiles. Charitable organizations and others collect roughly 15 percent of these items, while the remaining 85 percent — 24 billion pounds — end up in landfills. – […]
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A how-to guide from Redress and EcoChic Design Award.
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Jeans, a global trend, sells approximately 6 billion pairs around the world every year. Sustainable denim manufacturing is helpful to tackle environmental issues. Sustainable denim processing has become essential to reduce environmental consequences.
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Among all the brands out there, it’s a challenge to stand out and not give in to consumerism, sales and discount here and there. In my opinion, this devalues a brand. – Christina Fischer
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If you are just tuning in to how the world is struggling to cope with environmental constraints due to climate change and the grave impact of fast fashion, shame on you! This out of control consumption and disposal cannot last.
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. . .The essential triangle of sustainability is social, economic, environmental. You have to have all three or you are not really sustainable. . .I want to be a positive part of my community – thus growing a business and hiring, training, creating skilled jobs goes with the territory. That fills both social and economic […]
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‘Young optimists’ ages of 18 – 34 are the most engaged on sustainability. 2/3 actively buy sustainable brands and 1/4 always consider the social and environmental ethics of brands when making purchasing decisions. 67% say they recommend brands that behave responsibly. Ethical Fashion Forum – The Future of Fashion in Facts and Figures. The story of […]
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. . . Or else people and the planet pay the price. The conversation continues – social, environmental, and economic opportunities in sustainable fashion are feeding the shift on infrastructure, consumption, and disposal of fashion. I do think we need to redefine what we view as “cost” to include the environmental cost and the cost […]
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Clothing can be sustainable and yet still fashionable. – Mimi Wong, Founder and Designer of Minan Wong It may read as a simple statement, but not all designers can make this claim. In today’s earth friendly culture, consumers want fashionable clothes that can sustain the earth. Gone are the days where sustainable [Eco-friendly] fashion was […]
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. . .You can feel the love of the craft that has gone into the work by the craftsman. Through having a supply chain that holds eternal and ancient values, I hope to inspire others to take caution in how they are approaching their lifestyle in all aspects. Sita Bell | London This quote from […]
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Image: South African designer, Sheila-Madge Bakker – see her collection, read her story.
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We believe that ethical production should not compromise the quality and design of the product, rather it adds to its exquisiteness and value. We produce high quality, luxury ethical goods that are unique to the market. – Paola Masperi | designer Mayamiko | Malawi, Africa An interview with Paola Masperi. . . Paola, you are […]
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Learn the industry hands on as much as you can before going out there, because school won’t teach you the reality of it . . . create your own route, everything will not work for everyone. Some will be successful and some won’t. I mention this because this is the reality of fashion, and it’s […]
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We now purchase 80 billion pieces of new clothing every year, marking a 400% rise over the amount we bought just two decades ago. It has lead fashion to now be an almost three trillion dollar annual industry, but what has not been discussed is the huge after effects these supply chains are having on […]
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