Book Review: Sustainable Fashion (2nd edition)

I want you all to be aware that the second edition of Sustainable Fashion What’s Next? is now available.  I received an advance copy of this book last summer when I was assisting the publisher, Fairchild Books, with the learning tools associated with the book. And ever since reading it I have been looking forward to writing a review of the book as part of my blog. Bottom line -- I urge everyone to read it – whether you are an educator, student, fashionista, or fashion industry professional – you’ll be rewarded with engaging insights about all aspects of sustainable fashion.

From the Foreward written by William McDonough to the last section on best practices in the fashion industry, this edited book provides a comprehensive overview of many of the current issues, challenges, practices, and possibilities around designing, producing, and retailing fashion merchandise the supports sustainable environments, communities, and companies. The chapters are written by some of the most renowned scholars in the field today including Connie Ulasewicz at San Francisco State University, Marsha Dickson at the University of Delaware, Jana Hawley at the University of Arizona, Susan Kaiser at the University of California-Davis, and Hélène Day Fraser at Emily Carr University of Art and Design. For those who are familiar with research in this area, yes, I am name-dropping a bit; but only to make the point that the book has a great set of contributors.

In my opinion, an indicator of the quality of a scholarly book is that a reader continues to think about insights long after reading the book. What insights do I continue to think about since reading the book? For one, I loved the chapter written by fashion historian, Linda Welters, on the history of sustainability in fashion. I’ve always believed we can learn from the past and our relationship with abundance in materials and fashion is no different. Another is the chapter on zero waste fashion design written by designer and scholar, Timo Rissanen, in which he challenges fashion designers to rethink pattern design to eliminate any material waste. Rethinking pattern design – wow – that would dramatically change how pattern making is taught and how patterns are created. And lastly, one of the most thorough chapters is  on environmentally responsible fibers and fabrics written by Gail Baugh. This chapter is a must read for anyone who has asked the question “what fibers and fabrics are the most environmentally responsible?”

I will most likely write about each of these and other topics explored in this book in future blogs. But for now, enjoy reading this wonderful book and being inspired! 

Subcsribe to Clothing with a Conscience Blog

Putting a Face to Fashion: New Zealand and Ecuador

As you have read in some of my previous posts, I am an advocate for supply chain transparency. I believe it is imperative that fashion brand companies share with customers how, where, and by whom their products are made. And I love it when I find companies that do what I think is a fantastic job with this – telling their stories in ways that authentically put a face to the fashions we buy are wear. With this posting, I’ll share a couple of companies that I feel are very effective in telling their stories.

The first company is Icebreaker, a New Zealand-based company of merino wool base layers, sportswear, and outdoor wear. On each Icebreaker product is a label “trace me” along with the directions “simply type the unique Baa code on the green tag inside your garment into icebreaker.com”.  You will get information about where the wool came from and “meet the growers who raised them, and follow the production process through to the finished product”.  Videos of the wool growers are absolutely delightful – real people and real places!

The second company is Winter Sun. I wrote about Winter Sun in an earlier blog as a company that designs and produces hand-painted fabrics and women’s apparel using fair trade practices. The Winter Sun factory is located in Ecuador.  On their website are wonderful photographs and a video that shows the location of the factory in the Andes mountains of Ecuador along with the artisans who create the hand-painted fabrics and the sewing operators in the apparel factory.  I have personally visited this factory and can vouch for the authenticity of the photographs and video. The beauty of the place is amazing!

I wish every fashion brand provided this type of transparency particularly around the people who raise the animals, pick the cotton, design and create the styles, and sew the fashions we wear. In both of these cases, we can see who is involved with the making these brands -- these are the faces of fashion!

Subscribe to Clothing with a Conscience Blog

Finding Fair Trade

Not too long ago my sister, who lives in Montana, asked me where she could find fair trade clothing. She had seen the documentary “The True Cost”, which focuses on the human and environmental impact of the fast fashion industry. She was moved to act on her new awareness of the plight of apparel factory workers in developing countries. And so she asked me “where can I purchase fair trade clothing?”

Good question!

For those of you who are not familiar with “fair trade” – in its simplest form it assures consumers that farmers and/or workers were paid a fair or living wage. Several certification programs exist for fair trade products. For example, Fair Trade USA (2015) certification means that “products that bear our logo come from farmers and workers who are justly compensated.” Fair trade certification by Fairtrade International (2015) assures that products that carry the Fairtrade International label have met trade standards associated with fair wages, collective bargaining, labor standards (e.g., no child labor), health and safety standards, and democratic decision making.

Now back to the question – where can one find fair trade clothing? There are essentially four ways for consumers to find fair trade clothing. The companies I have listed below are definitely not an exhaustive list, but meant to provide a sampling of what’s available.

1.     Apparel brands that are in partnership with Fair Trade USA. A number of fashion brands have partnered with Fair Trade USA to create and sell certified fair trade clothing. These include:

·        US outdoor apparel company, Patagonia, was one of the first large company to partner with Fair Trade USA to create and sell certified fair trade clothing. 

·        PrAna offers a number of men’s and women’s fair trade shirts and accessories. 

2.     Apparel brands that pride themselves in paying fair wages and refer to themselves as fair trade. A number of apparel companies offer evidence that they pay fair wages and empower workers. Evidence of fair trade practices is essential to assure consumers of the authenticity of claims. Examples include:

·        Eileen Fisher offers several fair trade shirts, jackets, and sweaters. In addition, the website provides stories and videos of the company’s work in Peru in creating fair trade merchandise.

·        People Tree’s entire lines of men’s and women’s apparel are fair trade and made with environmentally responsible materials. Their “Who Makes Our Clothes?” area on their website offers evidence of their mission and values.  

·        Winter Sun, a company located in Ecuador and sells to the North American market. I have personally visited the Winter Sun factory and talked with workers. Videos and other visuals are also available on their website: 

3.     Retailers who sell fair trade merchandise (bricks-and-mortar and/or online). A number of retailers focus on fair trade merchandise. For example:

·        Ten Thousand Villages has both bricks-and-mortar stores as well as an impressive website along with videos as stories o their fair trade partners. 

·        NOVICA  is an online marketplace of artisan apparel and jewelry

·        Many communities have local stores that sell fair trade merchandise. Here in my hometown of Corvallis, OR, we have Many Hands Trading 

4.     Online resources for fair trade clothing

·        Fair Trade USA has a list of products and partners

·        The Good Trade offers their recommendations of 30 fair trade clothing brands

·         Fair Trade Federation has a wonderful listing of fair trade clothing companies

As you can see, a number of fair trade clothing brands and retailers are available to consumers; although, unfortunately, consumers must seek them out. If in its simplest form, fair trade is about paying fair or living wages, then why are not all clothing brands fair trade? It means that many brands are not paying fair or living wages. Why? I will attempt to address some of the issues surrounding challenges to responsible global fashion in future blogs. Until then, look for fair trade, look for evidence to any claims of fair trade, and when purchasing clothing, purchase fair trade.

Subscribe to Clothing with a Conscience Blog

A Tale of Transparency

I’m one of the few people in the world who actually looks at tags/labels in clothing to find out where the clothing was made. I do this more out of curiosity rather than using the information as a purchase criterion. Like other consumers, country of origin, is not one of the most important aspects of a garment in my deciding whether or not to purchase it. I also know that there are responsible factories everywhere and irresponsible factories everywhere and so country of origin does not guarantee factory or brand responsibility. As such, I rely more on the brand name and my knowledge of the brand. That said, I’m not a philanthropic consumer – that is, I do not purchase clothing I do not like or that doesn’t fit just because I know the company is responsible.  

One of my favorite fashion brands is Nau, a Portland, Oregon-based company that designs and markets urban lifestyle fashions with environmentally responsible materials. I wear Nau a lot when I travel; I particularly love the designs that allow me to take one garment I can wear as a jacket, dress, or top or remove the sleeves and wear as a sundress or jumper.  They also have a website that provides a wonderful description of their design philosophy, sustainability efforts, and social causes that they support. They outline and defend their global sourcing approach: “We manufacture our clothing in four countries—Canada, China, Thailand and Turkey—using fabrics from China, Japan, Korea, New Zealand, Thailand and the U.S.A.” (Nau, 2015). Therefore, how surprised I was to recently purchase an organic cotton sundress only to read the label “Made in India”.  I’m going to give Nau the benefit of the doubt that their website is not up-to-date. But, it did make me ponder why companies, even socially responsible companies like Nau, have difficulty or are reluctant in providing information to consumers about their supply chain?

Given that few companies are authentically transparent, how does a consumer know that the clothing they are thinking of purchasing was made using socially responsible business practices? Unfortunately, country of origin is not a guarantee. Granted, I tend to shy away from anything made in Bangladesh; but I also know that there are WRAP-certified factories there. Reputation and authenticity of brand name is probably the best way to assess a brand’s social responsibility. That does not make it easy for consumers. Over the coming months, I’ll share some of my favorite brands and why I believe they are authentically transparent. I welcome your experiences and information about favorite brands as well! In the meantime, I’m still going to look at tags/labels and still do my research.  

Subscribe to Clothing with a Conscience Blog