PASS THE BATON is a new type of recycle shop with two locations, in the center of Tokyo. It cherishes the emotional bound that both, previous and new owner have with the item, fostered by a carefully curated setting.
2045: scenarios for the textile and fashion industry: How will the industry look like in 5, 10 and 30 years time? Scenarios offer research-based insights, and potentially can show how realistic a world is, that looks rather quite different from what we're used to. What if Asia become today's Europe? What if we did not buy to own? What if everyone was a maker?
For Araisara, one of the biggest influences in her career as a fashion designer, in her life, comes from a women she tenderly calles 'Granny.' Granny is the inspiration behind Araisara's SS2010 'Hibiki' (echo) collection, which features stunning Sumi-Nagashi dyed fabrics.
Circular economy is the antonym of linear economy. Linear economy has been the dominant industrial model in our history and postulates production is followed by consumption that then ends up with the disposal of used products. As opposed to this, circular economy seeks to rebuild capital, whether this is financial, manufactured, human, social or natural and sees products having a longer or a never-ending life that are either re-used as new inputs to create new products or shared and co-owned by different consumers.
In the 1990s Nike was caught in a sweatshop scandal showing poor working conditions in the Asian factories of its suppliers.
Today Nike wants to “bring inspiration and innovation to every athlete in the world”. The evolution of the company’s mission is powerful because it adds meaning and purpose to its existence: from “produce”, to “help” to eventually “inspire and innovate”.
C&A, part of the Cofra Holding that owns C&A Europe, Brazil, Mexico and China, has been a family business since 1841.
The company is quite conservative in communicating corporate responsibility achievements. Their style of communication appears to be more emotional than factual.
The company has been awarded the Textile Exchange Future Shaper award in 2012 recognising the company’s commitment to promoting the analysis and certification of organic cotton and textiles.
North Italian fabric manufacturer Bonotto is returning to their roots and at the same time giving luxury fashion fabrics a new lease of authenticity and craftsmanship.
For their ‘Fabbrica Lenta‘ (the slow factory) range, they have unearthed the looms as well as dye techniques their district made its name with in the early 20th century.
Book Review: In Second Skin India Flint analysis the sustainable fashion challenge from the practicalities of a consumer. She makes it clear that our choices have a direct impact. Sadly, many of the practical examples she provides will push consumers away, rather than towards, improving their track record.
“100 Ways to Save the World” is an entertaining, beautifully illustrated book with 100 super-simple tips that will make a difference to the planet.
It is quite astonishing: all the different contexts that the term ‘circularity’ or ‘circular economy’ is being used. They key point mostly is of course the waste reduction promises inherent in the term, and the subsequent lower dependency on finite resources.
But, in addition to reducing waste, carbon – or rather carbon footprint – is a key factor.
Unfortunately, the reality is sobering: taking fashion as example, at best between 3% and 6% of the industry's carbon footprint could be remedied that way.
And even worse: in order to realise the potential, three fundamental hurdles must be addressed. Some efforts are underway, of course, but a steep hill remains to climb.
Did you ever wonder, how the New Climate Changed reality could look and feel like at its worst?
Then, we may right now be getting a flavour of exactly that.
Ukraine's resource richness may be an important variable in a globalised world that will increasingly be struggling to access necessary resources in the decades to come. Because, after all, and as we learned when we played monopoly: Whomever controls the resources controls the game.
Fashion Futures has analysed the fashion industry and come up with 4 scenarios for 2025. Opnuu, a UK start up, plans to commercialise clothing rental - outlined already in the Community Couture scenario.
Connecting the present and the past, learning and drawing conclusions from either, is and will remain key to creating a more sustainable fashion industry. So far, learning from the past in particular - in the good and in the bad - has been chiefly neglected. A series of thoughts.
On May 3rd 2012 the 2nd Fashion Summit took place in Copenhagen. Bringing fashion industry key people together to discuss sustainability with them, yet without using the term itself, is already a considerably achievement. Ilaria Pasquinelli attended and reports on her insights.
Cradle to Cradle is a design methodology that puts a 'waste-less' world at its heart. What is the concept all about? What does it mean for the apparel industry? And who practises it among designers and companies?
That textile waste – in the shape of garments as well as in other incarnation – has increasingly a commercial value in an area of globalised markets was a topic here in Shirahime on more than one occasion. This book takes on a larger perspective: Each chapter of the this book offers insights into the recycling economy of a distincly different industry.
The story of London Cloth is a rather engaging one. It all boils down to a rather single minded fascination for looms, mechanical ones specifically. 2 years on, the hobby has become a proper weaving shed with both mechanical and power looms, and clients such as Ben Sherman.
How can environmental sustainability benefit from small and micro units? And, how can it be ensured that the associated skills sets are unique, yet valuable to the global fashion industry as a whole? Through 3 case studies from South-East Asia we show how different potential solutions could look like.
Supply chains, as a discipline of expertise, have come out of the hiding and recognise their role in reducing corporate risk. This is notably and specifically the case in fashion and textiles. At the same time, 'design' - not just in the creation room, but in all facets where it impacts the making, delivery and use of a product or service, is increasingly recognised as relevant.
We need new business models that are not predicated on selling more stuff to more people.
And because in the 'Here and Now', there is truly not much more to say, I could finish with the above quote.
Except that: Those ‘new business models’ are not reality. Far from it.
About the Role of the Board in the 'Why'.
