January 28, 2009 by nina
The Centre for Sustainable Fashion launches the Shared Talent: India competition – recruiting the best UK and Indian design talent to showcase sustainable Indian textiles.
The Centre for Sustainable Fashion have linked up with CHOOLIPS & Its Ethical Relatives to launch the Shared Talent India competition and celebrate the BEST ethical movers & shakers working in India:
25 February, 6.30 – 8.30pm
London College of Fashion, RHS space, 20 John Princes St, London, W1G 0BJ (nearest tube Oxford Circus).
CHOOLIPS’ Designer Annegret Affolderbach will be in conversation with Bombay Electric, Founder & Owner, Priya Kishore, Indian Fashion Designer, Samant Chauhan and Dilys Williams, Director of the Centre for Sustainable Fashion at London College of Fashion. For more information about CHOOLIPS and Its Ethical Relatives see: www.choolips.blogspot.com
The event will be an opportunity for people to learn about how they can get involved in the SHARED TALENT INDIA COMPETITON. The Centre for Sustainable Fashion (CSF) are being supported by DEFRA and the Indian government to run a project promoting Indian sustainable textiles. Through the SHARED TALENT INDIA COMPETITION the CSF are looking to recruit a team of 6 talented UK – based designers to engage with Indian designers and selected LCF & Pearl Academy design students in a programme of activity including workshops and active design collaboration to produce concepts to showcase Indian sustainable textiles. The design process will take place through 6 workshops and online collaboration from April until June 2009 and will culminate in a week long trip to India in June/July 2009.
The design concepts, a promotional film and photography exhibition will be showcased at static exhibition and prestigious event in September 2009 London Fashion Week where an online resource profiling sustainable textiles, Indian suppliers and the design concepts will be launched. The event will then travel to Indian Fashion Week.
This is an amazing opportunity for creative designers with an interest in sustainability to work collaboratively on a high-profile industry facing project. The Centre for Sustainable Fashion will cover all costs related to travel to and in India. To apply you must be:
• a product, textile or fashion designer
• innovative, able to work collaboratively and interested in sustainability
• able to take part in a selection day on 25th March 2009 and if successful participate in 6 design workshops between April and June.
• able to travel to India for 10 days in June/July 2009.
Application process: To apply please send a covering letter detailing why the CSF should select you to be part of this project and your CV to Hannah Higginson at h.higginson@fashion.arts.ac.uk by 18th March 2009. A selection day will then take place on 25th March 2009 at London College of Fashion. This day will give you the opportunity to learn more about the project and give the CSF staff an opportunity to assess your design and collaboration skills. Please bring your portfolio with you to the day.
by nina
Leading the forefront of contemporary fashion design, the twice named ‘British Designer of the Year,’ Hussein Chalayan, is renowned for his innovative use of materials, meticulous pattern cutting and progressive attitudes to new technology.
This exhibition is the first comprehensive presentation of Hussein Chalayan’s work in the UK. Spanning fifteen years of experimental projects, the exhibition explores Hussein Chalayan’s creative approach, his inspirations and the many themes which influence his work such as cultural identity, displacement and migration.
more
by nina
NEW BOOK – ‘SUSTAINABILITY BY DESIGN: A SUBVERSIVE STRATEGY FOR TRANSFORMING OUR CONSUMER CULTURE’
The developed world, increasingly aware of ‘inconvenient truths’ about global warming and sustainability, is turning its attention to possible remedies – eco-efficiency, sustainable development, and corporate social responsibility, among others. John Ehrenfeld, author of the book and pioneer in the field of industrial ecology argues, however, that such measures are mere ‘Band-Aids’ and they may actually do more harm than good. Ehrenfeld challenges conventional understandings of ‘solving’ environmental problems and offers a radically new set of strategies to attain sustainability. The book is founded upon a new definition; that sustainability is the possibility that humans and other life will flourish on Earth forever. There are obstacles to this hopeful vision, however, and overcoming them will require us to transform our behaviour, both individually and collectively. Ehrenfeld identifies problematic cultural attributes, such as the unending consumption that characterises modern life and outlines practical steps towards developing sustainability as a mindset. By focusing on the ‘being’ mode of human existence rather than on the unsustainable ‘having’ mode we cling to now, he asserts, a sustainable world is within our reach. More…
January 26, 2009 by nina
Fashioning an Ethical Industry Conference: Putting Ethics into Practice
11th March 2009 – 9.30-17.30 – Rich Mix, London
Low wages and poor working conditions are endemic in the fashion industry. What are pioneers doing to try and create a more ethical industry. Explore how you can put your ethics into practice. A day of discussion, workshops and presentations.
Liz Leffman, of Clothesource, sharing her insider knowledge of global sourcing.
People Tree presenting their unique approach to ethical design and use of craftsmanship.
Paul Wright of ASDA George, discussing changing buyer behavior to support workers’ rights.
Ruth Bergan of Homeworkers Worldwide, members of the Ethical Trading Initiative, spotlighting a pioneering project in India.
Kate Fletcher, author of Sustainable Fashion and Textiles, and champion of ‘slow fashion’ envisioning how the industry could source more ethically.
Babul Akhter and Kalpona Akter highlighting their work improving conditions for garment workers in Bangladesh.
Dominic Eagleton, of Action Aid, exploring the potential for an Asian floor wage – stopping the race to the bottom.
Places are limited and only those who have registered will be admitted. The event is free for fashion students and tutors and £75 for others.
To register and for more information go to: http://fashioninganethicalindustry.org/newsandevents/events/conference2009/
by nina
The fab team over at the Environmental Justice Foundation are once again looking for enthusiastic volunteers to help out at London Fashion Week.
The volunteer placement is to present EJF’s work and cotton campaign at London Fashion Week (Friday 20th February – Tuesday 24th February) and London Fashion Weekend (Wednesday 4th March – Sunday 8th March). We will be engaging consumers/buyers in the work we do, and our new collection of designer charity tees.
The event is a unique opportunity for those with an interest in Ethical Fashion to participate in changing the way issues of fair trade and organic are viewed in Britain. Candidates will have the opportunity to attend the events, and will learn key marketing, communication, fundraising and organisational skills from tasks varying from promoting our ethical designer campaign t-shirts, to explaining the principles behind EJFs work. Key skills to be brought to the post include communication (in person), confidence and approachability, as well as enthusiasm for the cause. This unpaid position is for a minimum of 2 days for each event (either London Fashion Week/Weekend), at the Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, London, SW7 5BD.
It is ideal for enthusiastic candidates who are particularly interested in sustainable fashion and would enjoy the success of making a big difference in a short space of time.
If interested, please apply by sending a CV and cover letter to Kat Ross
cotton@ejfoundation.org
020 7359 0440
January 19, 2009 by nina
Date: Saturday 24th January 2009
Time: 2:00 – 5:00pm
Place: The Hub, 5 Torrens Street, London, EC1V 1NQ (a minute’s walk from Angel tube)
What: An opportunity to turn socks into monkeys, eat cake, meet some lovely people and learn all about SOKO* – a little ethical fashion dream which is becoming a reality in Kenya.
Materials: please bring a pair of socks or gloves…or both! These will be transformed into fabulous sock and glove toys!
Cost: A fiver (all proceeds are going to SOKO)
RSVP by 19th of January (places are limited) Debbie Jackson-Hill, email: djacksonhill@hotmail.com tel: 07963350670
*SOKO Kenya will be a fair-trade production unit producing clothes for the European fashion industry. All profits from the production unit will go to community projects in the area. Jo and Dave Maiden are heading out to Kenya on the 9th of Feb 2009 to devote themselves to this amazing project. Jo will give an informal presentation on how you can get involved.
January 14, 2009 by nina
South London Low Carbon Communities Network are looking for a student to come and help out at a ‘swishing’ event in a home in Balham.
We are expecting around 10 people to come and swap clothes on the evening of Thursday 22nd September. We are still in the process of inviting people. We are hoping a student could come with a sewing machine (or we could provide) and help us nip and tuck (or expand more likely!) and make clothes fit better or bring them up to date, or even alter them radically. I am hoping it will give people confidence to do this themselves.If interested please contact:
Susan Sheehan
tel: +44 7961 342247
sue.j.brown@btinternet.com
South London Low Carbon Communities Network www.projectdirt.com/group/SouthLondonLCC
January 13, 2009 by nina
Over the coming term, second year LCF students on BA (Hons) Fashion Studies, Womenswear and Product Design courses will be involved in a project to promote sustainable Indian textiles funded by DEFRA. Students will be asked to design, market and promote innovative and inspiring garments made from a selection of sustainable textiles sourced from India. Communication students will document the process in both film and image to promote the use of the textiles and their possible fashion applications. Selected students will be chosen to take part in the Shared Talent India project, which will be launched in February 2009. The shared talent project will bring together UK and Indian designers to take part in a programme of activity that will including workshops and active design collaboration to showcase sustainable Indian textiles. The design concepts, a promotional film and photography exhibition will be showcased at a prestigious event at London Fashion Week September 2009 . The event will then travel to Indian Fashion Week.
Keep an eye on the CSF blog for more information about the Shared Talent India project.
by nina
The Observer this weekend ran an expose on one of Primark‘s UK knitwear suppliers TNS Knitwear.
‘Britain’s high street fashion giant Primark was at the centre of a storm last night over allegations that illegal immigrants paid just over half the minimum wage had been employed to make fashionable knitwear for one of the firm’s bestselling ranges.’
Read article
Read response from Impactt
Read response from Labour Behind the Label
January 8, 2009 by nina
Clownfish are looking for two bright and enthusiastic interns with a passion for sustainability, to join our team at our London office…We are the only truly global sustainability and communications consultancy. We help brands evolve, transforming sustainability challenges into opportunities for creating internal and external value through engagement, efficiency, innovation and differentiation.
You will be interested in learning more about sustainability, have a background in business management or environmental sciences, be a team player and willing to support us in our work. Or you may have previous experience in uploading and managing websites (SEO, Coding
etc.) and strong content management skills.
The opportunity: Paid internship, provisionally 6 months (full or part time), starting ASAP.
Please send your CV and a covering letter telling us why you think you would be great in this role, to katie@clownfish.co.uk.
We look forward to hearing from you!
www.clownfish.co.uk
