The reaping (black market) trade in reptile skins for the luxury fashion and accessories market is an openly talked about, albeit ugly, reality of the present.
The recently published UNCTAD BioTrade report and toolkit provides useful and pragmatic info for designers.
J&R Designs in Homerton is a small factory in London's East End, the only remaining of its kind, run by the Persaud family, and which specialises in hand crafted quality leather handbags manufacturing. A portrait.
In the briefest of time, Bottletop's iconic bags have not only made into the limelight of fashion weeks supported by VIP, but their business model and approach has earned the organisation a shortlisting for the Observer Ethical Awards 2012, the British 'Green Oscars'.
The Guardian Sustainable Business & Observer Ethical Awards 2012 edition in fashion terms. Cradle to Cradle is becoming popular in the nitty gritty of the carpet industry, Puma's Profit and Loss Accounts get credit, and Kids imitate Katherin Hamnett's 1980's slogan T-shirts to raise awareness.
Are natural perfumes the panacea for sustainability in the fragrance industry? Are there good sides, not only bad ones, to synthetics ingredients in perfumes? And what about health impacts? A brief overview of the most important issues.
Julius Walters of Stephen Walters & Sons is a ninth generation weaver of a family business founded 1720. This is the company that wove the silk for the Queen’s coronation robes and for Princess Diana’s wedding dress.
'Make it British', or the equivalent: French, Italian, German, Spanish ..., is often talked of as the ultimate panacea to address the lack of sustainability in the fashion industry. A few reasons why it all is slightly more complicated than it sounds.
'The hidden face of fair trade' is a thoroughly researched, critical review of the fair trade movement and its players. With France as the primary focus, the author revisits the movement's history, points out paradoxes and problems, and suggest what may, or not, become of it in the future.
The coastal areas of Eastern Japan, while largely unaffected by the grade 9 earthquake from March 11th, 2011, was thoroughly washed away by the tsunami following the quake. Now that the recovery efforts are under way, also fashion companies and fashion related projects contribute their share. An overview of what is happening on the ground to-date.
At the forefront of the Japanese ethical fashion movement, and commercially the most successful, are social businesses. They're principle strategy is to build a firm base in their own national market, but beyond that Asian markets are their principle expansion area. Design is flexible, but their business principle are everything but.
The word Beshtar means 'More' in Dari. The idea behind the brand and its designs is to do more for the people of Afghanistan. The inspiration for Beshtar comes from the resilience of a people living in a country that has been at war for more than 30 years.
Contrary to common opinion, ‘Australian-made’ does not always mean ethically made. In some cases salaries as low as AUS$ 4 are paid. Ethical Clothing Australia is campaigning to change their domestic fashion industry from within.
Historically, fair trade has pitch to and sold thanks to consumers' guilt. A grave mistake as the currently ongoing consumption trends show. Quality, exclusivity is what has survived the economic downturn best.
Smateria is a Cambodian upcycling bag label founded by 2 Italian women. What originally was a haphazard venture with the will to improve the lives of Cambodian women has turned by now into a successful social business.
What 'ethical' business trends can we see across the globe. In this double post, we look at what the trends in fair trade are, and what we can infer from them.
Part 1: What we probably know.
Animanà is a calling to give the world an alternative production model that connects the market with the artisans who live in marginal areas of the Andean region. A portrait.
Sneakers, or basket ball shoes, are an unlikely candidate for building a successful ethical brand, yet Veja has managed the grow in an otherwise saturated market.
The European wool industry has all but disappeared. Recently however, a grassroots trend is emerging. Mini mills now cater to small hold breeders, which turns wool source more transparent then ever.
What about environmentally-friendly alternatives to the common plastic clothing hangers? An analysis of the market, & concrete products that help solve the dilemma.
Minimum wage, living wage. Fair pay keeps being an issue in Europe & US. Whether illegal immigrants or recent graduates - increasingly even a humble life style is difficult to achieve.
